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An Israeli airstrike has leveled the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a significant town in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of the mayor and at least five others who were coordinating aid for those impacted by the war.
The local governor informed the BBC that the strike hit a meeting of the council’s crisis coordination team, while Israel claimed to have targeted “dozens” of Hezbollah sites in the area.
Reuters had reported that the attack heightened fears that Israel’s growing air campaign, intended to defeat the Iran-backed Hezbollah, could begin targeting public officials and buildings, which had previously been spared.
Read More: Israel launches ground invasion in Southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the provincial capital, stating that it “deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council to address the city’s service and relief efforts.”
The report read that In recent weeks, Israel had assassinated senior Hezbollah leadership and advanced into southern border towns, stating that it aimed to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to the north of Israel.
After Israel first issued an evacuation notice for Nabatieh, a city with tens of thousands of residents, on October 3, a Reuters reporter contacted Mayor Ahmed Kahil to ask if he planned to leave.
He responded that he would not. On Wednesday, Israel’s military reported striking dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Nabatieh area, with its navy also attacking targets in southern Lebanon.
It claimed to have “dismantled” a tunnel network used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in a town near the Israeli border, releasing a video of multiple explosions shaking a cluster of buildings.
Lebanese officials identified the town as Mhaibib, which is home to a religious shrine.
The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, stated that civilian suffering had reached unprecedented levels following the Israeli strike on Nabatieh.
Israel is now engaged in battles with Tehran’s ally Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Beirut, as well as with Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza.
Earlier on Wednesday, at least one Israeli airstrike had hit Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut, where Reuters witnesses reported hearing two blasts and seeing plumes of smoke rising from separate neighborhoods.
The explosions followed Israel’s issuance of an evacuation order, which only mentioned one building.
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