At least six killed, including mayor, in Israeli strikes on Nabatiyeh municipality

The mayor of Nabatiyeh was among at least six people killed Wednesday in Israeli strikes on the municipality of the southern Lebanese city.

"The mayor of Nabatiyeh, among others... was martyred. It's a massacre," Nabatiyeh governor Howaida Turk told AFP, adding he had been in the municipality building.

Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers also said several people were killed in the strike on the municipality building including mayor Ahmad Kahil.

Israel carried out Wednesday 11 air strikes on Nabatiyeh and surrounding areas in south Lebanon, days after strikes destroyed the southern city's marketplace.

"For now, 11 strikes have mainly hit Nabatiyeh but also its surroundings," Nabatiyeh governor Howaida Turk told AFP, adding that the intense raids "formed a kind of belt of fire" in the area.

The health ministry said six people were killed in the strikes and 43 were wounded. The mayor of Nabatiyeh and local government staff were in the building.

"The Israeli enemy raid... on two buildings, that of the Nabatiyeh municipality and the union of municipalities, killed six people in a preliminary toll," the ministry said in a statement, adding rescuers were searching for survivors under the rubble.

The Israeli army said its forces hit Hezbollah targets embedded among civilians, without providing evidence.

"The IDF army struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Nabatiyeh area and dismantled underground infrastructure used by Hezbollah's Radwan Forces in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the strikes on Nabatiyeh, saying they intentionally targeted a municipality meeting.

Mikati "condemned the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatiyeh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city's services and relief situation," he said in a statement.

Mikati accused the international community of being “deliberately silent” about Israeli strikes that have killed civilians and attacks on U.N. peacekeepers.

“What solution can be hoped for in light of this reality?” he said in a statement.

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that the building was targeted during a meeting held to coordinate relief work and aid distribution for people who have remained in southern Lebanon. He said a civil defense member was killed and others injured in the strike.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the attack follows other incidents in which civilians and civilian infrastructure have been targeted across Lebanon. "Today’s reported killing of a humanitarian first responder is, tragically, part of this pattern," she said.

Hennis-Plasschaert added that violations of international humanitarian law are utterly unacceptable. "Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times."

"Civilian suffering is reaching unprecedented heights," she said, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

"Military solutions will not and cannot bring safety or security to either side of the Blue Line. It is time for all concerned actors to immediately cease their fire and open the door to diplomatic solutions capable of realizing the needs of citizens and advancing regional stability."