By Middle East Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven civilians and injured more than 20 across southern Lebanon on Sunday, destroying a hospital in Nabatieh, as a separate Israeli strike killed two Palestinians, including a child, in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran with a major attack if it strikes Israel.
The strikes in Lebanon hit several areas of Nabatieh district, including Nabatieh al-Fawqa, the Al-Rahibat neighbourhood of Nabatieh city, Arab Salim and Kfar Remman, according to Lebanese official sources.
Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shbib and an accompanying cameraman were injured in an Israeli strike targeting Nabatieh, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said two people were killed and two injured in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while eight people, including a woman and a girl, were wounded in the Al-Rahibat neighbourhood.
In Arab Salim, two women were killed and six people, including two girls, were injured, while four women were wounded in Kfar Remman.
NNA reported that Israeli warplanes struck a house in Arab Salim, killing two women, and destroyed another house in the town. An Israeli strike also targeted the home of Ali Moallem, the former mayor of Kfar Remman, near the town’s industrial area, injuring several people.
An Israeli drone also fired a missile at a car near the Fakhr al-Din parking lot in Nabatieh, killing three people, NNA reported.
The Health Ministry later said Israeli airstrikes had completely destroyed Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
“The Israeli airstrikes carried out this morning completely destroyed Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa,” the ministry said, describing the attack as another violation of the protection afforded to medical facilities under international humanitarian law.
The hospital had stopped operating about two months earlier because of intensified Israeli attacks on Nabatieh and surrounding areas. The ministry said it had previously provided medical services to residents and served for an extended period as a shelter for displaced people.
The ministry said 17 hospitals across Lebanon had been damaged by Israeli strikes since March 2, while three hospitals in southern Lebanon had been forced out of service.
Israel has intensified attacks on southern Lebanon in recent days after its military claimed it intercepted a drone allegedly launched by Hezbollah towards its forces operating in what Israel calls a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.
The escalation comes despite a US-sponsored framework agreement signed on June 26 providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese army.
Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 4,300 people, injured more than 12,300 and displaced over one million people.
Israeli forces kill two civilians in Gaza, funeral for 100 people
In Gaza City, two Palestinian civilians, including a child, were killed Sunday when an Israeli drone struck a car in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood west of the city, according to a medical source cited by Anadolu.
The attack was the latest reported violation of the ceasefire in force in Gaza since October 10, 2025. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli violations of the agreement have killed 1,344 Palestinians and injured 4,464 others.
Also on Sunday, Palestinians held a funeral procession in Gaza City for 100 people, including 60 children, whose bodies and remains had been recovered from beneath destroyed homes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.
Thousands of relatives and community members attended the procession. The remains were due to be buried at Al-Ahli cemetery following funeral prayers.
Civil Defence teams recovered the bodies as part of the second phase of an operation launched on July 19 to retrieve Palestinians still buried beneath buildings destroyed during Israel’s war.
The victims belonged to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka, Qanbour and Salmi families and were killed when Israeli forces struck residential homes, according to local authorities.
The recovery operation has been hampered by a shortage of heavy machinery and deteriorating equipment, alongside restrictions on the entry of equipment needed to search the rubble.
Mahmoud Murtaja, whose nine-month-pregnant wife and three-year-old daughter were among those recovered, told Anadolu that their remains had remained beneath the rubble for nearly three years.
“It is as though they were killed yesterday,” he said, describing the recovery as reopening a wound that had never healed.
Gaza City Civil Defence Director Raed al-Dahshan said the operation had been extremely difficult because of the scale of destruction and lack of heavy equipment. Around 60 children were among those recovered, he said.
The second phase involves 800 hours of work at 147 destroyed homes across Gaza City and northern and central Gaza, where Palestinian authorities estimate that 1,072 bodies remain buried beneath the rubble.
The first phase, which began in late November 2025, involved 500 hours of work and recovered around 333 bodies and remains from an estimated 559 people missing beneath 54 homes and buildings.
Netanyahu threatens Iran
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran on Sunday with a major attack if Tehran strikes Israel.
Speaking at the Israeli government’s weekly meeting, Netanyahu said Iran would receive “a blow it cannot even imagine” if it attacked Israel.
His remarks came about 50 days before Knesset elections scheduled for October 27, amid declining poll numbers for Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Israeli officials believe Netanyahu is escalating militarily on several fronts in an effort to appease far-right parties ahead of the election.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel was “stronger than ever” and its enemies “weaker than ever”, saying Israel and the US had made significant progress against what he described as an existential threat from Iran.
Regional tensions have remained high since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, followed by Iranian missile and drone strikes against Israel and US interests across the region.
Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in June, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, outlining steps towards ending hostilities, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing economic restrictions.
The two sides have since accused each other of failing to implement their commitments, while military tensions have continued alongside disputes over sanctions and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
[Photo: Thick smoke rise above residential structures following an Israeli airstrike in the town of Arab Salim, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, on September 6, 2026. The Israeli Air Force launched multiple strikes across southern Lebanon, including target sites in Arab Salim, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and Kfar Rumman, resulting in fatalities and injuries.
Photojournalist: Mohammad Abushama/AA]
