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IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorist cell posing as paramedics

Israel says the use of ambulances to move weapons and launch attacks a grave breach of international law.

An ambulance on the site of the israeli strike that targeted Basta in central Beirut. Photo by Nael Chahine/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.
An ambulance at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted terrorists in Basta, central Beirut. Photo by Nael Chahine/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.

The Israeli military struck a cell of Hezbollah terrorist operatives Saturday who were disguised as paramedics and operating near an ambulance in Southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.

According to the military, the operatives used ambulances to move weapons between Northern and Southern Lebanon and to facilitate attacks against Israeli forces. Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from areas where the cell operated over the past month, the IDF said.

The military called the use of medical vehicles and personnel to conceal terrorist activity a serious violation of international law, noting that medical teams lose protected status when engaged in hostile acts.

“This incident serves as another example of Hezbollah’s cynical and systematic use of medical infrastructure and civilians for military purposes,” the IDF said.

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Israel assailed the decision as a “grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.”