UN condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon, horrifying reports of casualties

(Patria) - The United Nations has condemned the massive wave of Israeli strikes across Lebanon, saying reports of hundreds of people, including civilians, killed and injured are "horrifying" just hours after an Iranian ceasefire, Reuters reported.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon were the heaviest since the outbreak of conflict with Hezbollah last month, even as the Iran-linked group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon as part of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

"The scale of killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

"Such a massacre, within hours of a ceasefire agreement with Iran, defies belief. It puts immense pressure on the fragile peace, which civilians need so much," he said.

Turk's statement said a UN human rights team at the scene of one of the attacks in the Lebanese capital described a scene of destruction and several dead bodies among the rubble.

Israel said it targeted more than a hundred Hezbollah command centers, with military locations in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.

Lebanese civil defense authorities said the death toll from Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday rose to 254.

Turk said that in an overnight Israeli attack on a building in front of Hiram Hospital in Al-Aabbassiyeh, near Tyre, four people were killed and the hospital was damaged. In another attack, an ambulance of the Islamic Health Directorate in Qlaileh was hit, and three people were killed.

"International humanitarian law clearly states that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected," he said.

"Prompt and independent investigations into all alleged violations must be conducted, and those responsible must be brought to justice."