Iran Condemns Israeli Attacks on Lebanon

In a statement on Saturday, Esmaeil Baqaei denounced the attacks carried out yesterday and last night by the Israeli regime against Lebanon, including the Bekaa area and the Palestinian-populated camp of Ein el-Hilweh in Sidon, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of more than 40 Lebanese and Palestinian citizens.

Referring to the continued flagrant violations of Lebanon’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, the Iranian spokesperson underscored the direct responsibility of the guarantors of the ceasefire --the US and France-- for the crimes committed by the Zionist regime.

He also emphasized the necessity of immediate action by the United Nations and its Security Council to fulfill their legal responsibilities in order to halt the Israeli regime’s military aggression.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday that Israeli airstrikes on the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country killed at least six people and left more than 25 wounded, who were “distributed across the region’s hospitals”.

NNA later updated the preliminary death toll to “more than 10” with at least 30 wounded from the attack on a building in the town of Riyaq, located in the Bekaa governorate.

Earlier on Friday, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said at least two people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Ein el-Hilweh camp, the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.

NNA reported that an “Israeli drone” had targeted the Hittin neighborhood of the camp.

It noted that the strike on the refugee camp caused “significant damage” to a building that had previously been used by the joint Palestinian force responsible for the camp’s security, but was now being rented by an individual to “operate a kitchen distributing food aid”.

Last November, the Israeli regime conducted a major raid on Ein el-Helweh that killed 13 people, including 11 children, according to the United Nations rights office./tasnim