As Christians celebrated the Feast of the Resurrection, Lebanon witnessed a new escalation of violence, marked by a particularly painful human tragedy. In the town of Kfar Hatta, located in the south of the country, an Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of seven people. Among the victims were six members of the same family, including a child of only four years old. These civilians, although they had received an evacuation order, were unable to leave the town for lack of a vehicle, waiting in vain for help that never arrived in time.
This tragic event is not an isolated incident during this Paschal season. In the preceding hours, other raids struck the south of the country, notably in Maarakah where five people perished, and in Habbush, where two young girls were killed in an Israeli attack that also left twenty-two wounded. This toll adds to an already critical humanitarian situation. According to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 1,400 people have lost their lives since the beginning of military operations on March 2, among whom at least 126 are minors. The number of wounded now exceeds 4,200.
The impact on the civilian population is reaching unprecedented proportions. UNICEF reports that in one month, more than 1.1 million people, including approximately 390,000 children, have been forced to flee their homes. The organization highlights the vital urgency of humanitarian aid for these displaced families, many of whom have found refuge in the roughly 290,000 shelters set up, but which are desperately lacking in basic necessities.
On the military front, pressure is intensifying around the capital. Beirut was again the target of incursions aimed, according to Israeli defense forces, at Hezbollah infrastructure, particularly in the southern suburbs where destruction is massive. In response, the Shiite movement claimed to have hit a military vessel off the Lebanese coast using a cruise missile, information that the Israeli army has not confirmed.
The border area is also suffering significant collateral damage. Israeli authorities have announced their intention to target the Masnaa border crossing, a strategic passage point between Lebanon and Syria, accusing Hezbollah of using it to transport weapons. This threat has led to the evacuation of the area and the interruption of traffic. Furthermore, incidents have been reported at the headquarters of the UN mission, UNIFIL, in Naqoura, where seventeen surveillance cameras are said to have been destroyed by Israeli forces in the last twenty-four hours.
Faced with what appears to be a march towards widespread destruction, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has issued an urgent appeal to the international community and the conflicting parties for the immediate opening of negotiations. Expressing fear that southern Lebanon will suffer a fate similar to that of the Gaza Strip, the head of state exhorted diplomacy while it is still possible to save the homes and lives spared by the bombings.