At least 14 paramedics have been killed in Israeli airstrikes over the past two days, Lebanese officials reported on Sunday.

The Israeli military targeted areas near a hospital in the Bekaa Valley in the east, forcing its temporary closure, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported.

The ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of international law, stating: “It is well known that paramedics do not engage in combat.

“They transport the dead to their final resting place and tend to the wounds of the injured until they arrive at the hospital.

“Does Israel want to spill blood without end?”

Following nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes, Israel launched a massive aerial campaign on targets across Lebanon earlier this week, with the stated aim of pushing back Hezbollah forces to enable the return of tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern Israel amid the fighting.

The death toll since the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began almost a year ago has risen to more than 1,600 and a further 8,400 have been injured, according to official Lebanese figures. 

(dpa/NAN)