Lebanon mourns Rimas, Taline, Layan, killed by Israeli strike with grandmother

Students in Lebanon observed Monday a moment of silence for Rimas, Taline and Layan, ages 10, 12 and 14, and their grandmother who were killed Sunday evening by an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Ainata.

The death of the three children and their grandmother raised the number of civilians killed on the Lebanese side in the border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel to at least 14, despite Hezbollah's warning that if Israel kills Lebanese civilians, it will be considered a violation of the rules of engagement and it will retaliate by attacking civilian targets.

Many Lebanese officials, lawmakers and ministers deplored the airstrike.

Caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned Israel for the drone attack, calling it a “heinous crime.” He said that Lebanon will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dubbed Israel's aggressions in Gaza and Lebanon "organized state terrorism."

Earlier Sunday, an Israeli drone had struck near two ambulance on their way to pick up casualties from overnight strikes in southern Lebanon, wounding four paramedics.

The three children and their grandmother were killed, between the towns of Ainata and Aitaroun when their car was hit by an Israeli airstrike. The car was hit directly and burst into flames. The grandmother and three girls were killed, and their mother was wounded.

“There were no men in the car that was hit — there were three innocent young children with their grandmother and their mother,” the uncle of the girls, journalist Samir Ayoub said.

“Three children were burned in the car and no one could save them. And I pulled out their mother as she was screaming, ‘My children!’ Where are the terrorists? Israelis, you are the terrorists."

Mohammad Suleiman, head of Salah Ghandour hospital in the town of Bint Jbeil, the bodies of the woman and three children were “completely burned." The children's mother was wounded but in stable condition and was transferred to another area hospital, he said.

Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, didn't comment on the details, but told reporters, “We study and investigate all incidents that take place to know the details.”

Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel condemned the airstrike. So did Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, as he called on officials to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which compels Israel and Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks and military operations from the two sides.

The children were students at the Saints-Coeurs College, a catholic school in Ain Ebel.

"The enemy will pay the price," Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said, as Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel’s north in response to the killing of civilians.