DEIR QANOUN EN-NAHR, Lebanon, May 21 (Reuters) – Mourners gathered in a southern Lebanese town on Thursday to bury victims from an Israeli airstrike earlier this week that killed 14 people, the deadliest single bombing raid on Lebanon since the announcement of a tenuous ceasefire last month.
The toll from Israel’s strike on the town of Deir Qanoun En-Nahr on Tuesday included four children and three women, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Dozens of people gathered in the southern town on Thursday to bury the victims, carrying pictures of three children and their parents who were killed in the bombing raid.
Ali Reda Dibo identified them as his 33-year-old brother, who was killed at home along with his wife and their children — a 1-year-old son, and two daughters aged 6 and 8.
“They were children, angels, what more can we say? There is nothing left to say after what you are seeing today, nothing at all,” Dibo said.
Two of the coffins were draped in the yellow flag of Hezbollah, and a third bore the green flag of Hezbollah’s ally, the Amal movement.
MORE THAN 200 CHILDREN KILLED SINCE MARCH
When asked about the strike, the Israeli military told Reuters that it had “struck a Hezbollah terrorist in a structure used for military purposes in the area of Deir Qanoun in southern Lebanon”.
It said the area had been evacuated of civilians and that precise munitions and aerial surveillance had been used to mitigate harm.
Israel has issued orders for people across southern Lebanese towns to leave their homes and head north, including during the ceasefire. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the evacuation orders and by Israel’s bombing campaign.
But many have opted to stay in their hometowns, refusing to stay in government-run shelters or unable to afford rent for a new home.
More than 3,070 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2, when Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired on Israel and ignited a new war.
They include more than 200 children, nearly 300 women and more than 110 healthcare workers.
Fighting has continued despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16, with each side accusing the other of truce violations.
(Writing by Maya GebeilyEditing by Gareth Jones)
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