Four soldiers in Lebanese military killed after Israeli attack on Sarafand injures over 10 civilians

Israeli forces killed four soldiers in the Lebanese military in two direct attacks overnight, one targeting a post in Sarafand and the other a vehicle on the road from Burj al-Malook to Qaliyleh, the military said in official statements. 

The impact of Israel’s airstrike on Sarafand, which targeted a military intelligence post, also damaged civilian homes nearby, according to head of the municipality’s crisis response cell, Ali Khalifeh. 

A Mada Masr correspondent in the area said that 16 civilians were injured, with some trapped beneath the rubble as at least one house in the area was destroyed by the strike. 

One body was removed from beneath the destroyed buildings in the morning, according to the correspondent, who said that the person’s identity could not be verified.

All three soldiers killed in the targeting of the military post were soldiers from south Lebanon, according to a military statement released the following morning. The military said later that another of its soldiers, also a southerner, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday which targeted a military vehicle. 

A military source said to Mada Masr that prior to the overnight attacks, 36 Lebanese soldiers had been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since October 8, 2023. 

Clashes continued further south as Hezbollah fighters repelled Israel’s efforts to push further into Lebanese territory in the south. An Israeli soldier was killed in south Lebanon by a Hezbollah drone on Tuesday, according to the Israeli press.

Hezbollah also launched rocket fire toward Israeli military “gatherings” near Wata al-Khiam, where it said Israel’s soldiers were attempting to advance on Khiam. 

More UNIFIL peacekeeping troops were also injured in the crossfire on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the international peacekeeping forces who are present in the area under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.  

Six UNIFIL soldiers were injured in three attacks, including four Ghanaian soldiers who were targeted by a missile which UNIFIL's statement said was launched by non-governmental parties inside Lebanon and struck the UN force base in the village of Ramyeh.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 3,544 people have been killed and 15,036 others injured as a result of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon since 2023, while the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) noted that over 200 children have been killed and 1,100 others were injured in the past two months of Israel’s aggression on Lebanon alone.

During a press conference in Geneva, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said that there is a "disturbing similarity" between what is happening in Lebanon and Gaza, as reports from both regions indicate that a large percentage of those killed in the war are children.