An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday destroyed the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon, killing the mayor and at least five others as they met to coordinate aid for those suffering from war.
The attack fuelled concerns that Israel’s expanding air campaign, aimed at crushing Iran-backed Hezbollah, might increasingly target public officials and facilities that had hitherto been spared.
Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the provincial capital, claiming that it “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city’s service and relief situation.”
It was Israel’s most substantial attack on a Lebanese state building since expanding its offensive last month, and it came despite US fears about mounting casualty counts and the possibility of all-out war in the oil-rich Middle East.
In recent weeks, Israel murdered Hezbollah’s senior leadership and advanced into southern border towns, claiming that it intends to remove Hezbollah’s infrastructure so that tens of thousands of Israelis can return home to the north.
After Israel issued an evacuation notice for Nabatieh, a city of tens of thousands of inhabitants, on October 3, a Reuters reporter called Mayor Ahmed Kahil to see if he would depart. He claimed he wouldn’t.
On Wednesday, Israel’s military said it bombed dozens of Hezbollah sites in the Nabatieh area, while its navy reportedly blasted dozens of targets in southern Lebanon.
It claimed to have “dismantled” a tunnel network used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in the centre of a town near the Israeli border and released a video showing multiple explosions rocking a cluster of houses. Lebanese officials confirmed it was the small hamlet of Mhaibib, which is home to a holy site.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said civilian suffering had reached an all-time high following Israel’s strike on Nabatieh.
Israel is currently battling Tehran’s allies Hezbollah in south Lebanon and the capital Beirut, as well as Palestinian extremists Hamas in Gaza.
It is also prepared to respond to an Iranian missile attack on October 1, which follows a similar large-scale operation in April.
