Israel’s Lebanon offensive. Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least 16 people, including the mayor of Nabatieh. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused Israel of intentionally targeting the city’s municipal council meeting, which he said was discussing local relief efforts at the time. Wednesday’s strike was the most significant Israeli attack on a Lebanese state building since Israel expanded its offensive against Hezbollah last month.
On Tuesday, the United States said it opposes the scope of Israel’s recent bombing campaign in Beirut, even as the offensive grows across southern Lebanon. Israeli operations in the country have killed more than 1,400 people and displaced more than 1.3 million others in recent weeks. Israeli military evacuation orders now apply to more than 25 percent of Lebanon, including Nabatieh. Many of the airstrikes have centered on the capital of Beirut, while the ground offensive has focused largely on the southern portion of the country, where Hezbollah holds substantial de facto control. Israeli attacks have also hit United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the area. Israel maintains that it only targets sites linked to Hezbollah militants
The U.N. human rights office called on Tuesday for an investigation into an Israeli airstrike the day before that killed at least 21 people in a residential building in northern Lebanon. Locals report that most of those killed were women and children. In the nearby northern city of Akkar on Wednesday, Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry confirmed the first case of cholera in the country this year. Authorities fear that prolonged conflict and mass displacement could worsen disease conditions.