Death toll from Israel's attacks in Lebanon since March surpasses 3,000

Beirut (ANTARA) - The Lebanese Ministry of Health said the death toll from Israeli strikes since 2 March has risen to 3,020, while 9,273 others have been wounded, as attacks and shelling by Israeli forces continued in various parts of Lebanon from Sunday evening (17 May) to Monday morning local time. At least six people were killed in the latest strike, including two Palestinians in Baalbek District, eastern Lebanon, after a guided missile struck their apartment shortly after midnight. The victims were identified as Wael Abdel Halim, a commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and his 17-year-old daughter Rama, according to the official Lebanese news agency, National News Agency (NNA), on Monday (18 May). In southern Lebanon, three people were killed in Israeli air strikes targeting a village, according to NNA, while one more person died and eight were wounded in an attack in Maarakeh. Israeli fighter jets also attacked residential and commercial complexes along the Deir al-Zahrani highway in southern Lebanon early on Monday, flattening the buildings. The Israeli military also carried out further strikes targeting several areas in Tyre District and Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon. On Monday, the Israeli military issued emergency warnings to residents in several towns and villages in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it had targeted an Iron Dome platform at several barracks in the Galilee Panhandle region of northern Israel, using a strike drone, and attacked a group of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in Rashaf, southern Lebanon, with a volley of rockets. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight on 16 April, after cross-border clashes intensified over several weeks since 2 March, sparked by the US-Israel conflict with Iran. On 23 April, Washington announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the ceasefire for three weeks. On Friday (15 May), Washington again announced both sides had agreed to extend the ceasefire for 45 days. Although the ceasefire has been agreed, Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon, while Hizbullah retaliates by launching attacks on northern Israel and Israeli military posts in southern Lebanon.