Schoolchildren injured as Israeli drone hits vehicle in southern Lebanon

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car in the southern Lebanese town of Attiri in the Nabatieh district on Wednesday morning, wounding several schoolchildren in a bus that was passing by at the moment, the state-run National News Agency reported.

According to NNA, the school bus was moving directly behind the targeted vehicle at the moment of the strike, leaving multiple students and the bus driver injured.

The agency did not immediately specify the number of wounded students or the severity of their injuries.

The strike came hours after at least 13 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army claimed that the attack targeted Hamas members inside the center. It alleged that the targeted facility was being used to plot attacks against Israel. The Palestinian group denied the Israeli claims.

Tensions have been mounting in southern Lebanon for weeks, with the Israeli army intensifying near-daily air raids inside Lebanese territory, allegedly targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

The Israeli army has killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and turned into a full-scale offensive in September 2024.

Under a ceasefire declared in November 2024, the Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon this January, but instead only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.