Israeli strike kills hospital chief, 6 colleagues in Lebanon
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Friday killed the director of Dar al-Amal hospital in the east of the country near Baalbek and six of his colleagues.
A ministry statement announced the “loss of Dr Ali Rakan Allam, director of Dar al-Amal university hospital, and six colleagues in a cowardly Israeli attack which targeted his residence near the hospital.” It also denounced “continual Israeli aggression against medical staff and facilities.”
Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy will lead to an imminent ceasefire.
US mediator Amos Hochstein said this week in Beirut that a truce was “within our grasp”. He travelled on to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz before returning to Washington, the news outlet Axios said.
His trip was aimed at ending more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border, which escalated when Israel ramped up its strikes in late September and sent ground troops into Lebanon on Oct. 1.
Israeli troops have fought Hezbollah in a strip of towns along the border and this week pushed deeper to the edges of Khiyam, a town some six km (four miles) from the border.
Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday. Lebanese security sources told Reuters Israeli troops had also advanced in a string of villages to the west. They said Israel was most likely trying to isolate Khiyam before attacking the town.
