Israeli forces struck a medical response in southern Lebanon with four consecutive attacks on ambulances and paramedics, killing four aid workers and wounding six others in what rescuers are now calling a “quadruple tap” strike.
The attack unfolded on Wednesday afternoon in Mayfadoun after Israeli warplanes hit the area, prompting medics from the Islamic Health Association to rush to the scene despite knowing the risk of follow-up strikes. By the time other emergency crews arrived, they found the initial responders had already been hit in a second strike, and as they began evacuating the wounded, two more waves of bombs struck their ambulances.
One paramedic was filmed covering his ears and screaming as shrapnel shattered the ambulance window, while others struggled to pull a motionless colleague from a blood-splashed vehicle. The attack killed Fadel Sarhan, a 43-year-old medic remembered by colleagues for bringing pet food to stray animals in his neighborhood, and three others from Hezbollah-affiliated and state-linked emergency services.
Under international humanitarian law, medical personnel are protected as non-combatants regardless of affiliation, yet such attacks have become routine in southern Lebanon, where rescuers say they now anticipate multiple strikes when responding to any bombing.
The same day, Israel’s military said it killed approximately 250 Hezbollah fighters in a 60-second strike across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon, targeting command centers rather than weapons sites. Israeli officials described it as one of the most devastating blows to Hezbollah’s command structure since the conflict escalated in early March.
For more on this story, see Israeli forces kill four Lebanese medics in southern Lebanon strikes.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani of the IDF said the operation resulted from weeks of intelligence tracking Hezbollah operatives moving between apartments and safe houses, enabling simultaneous strikes on over 100 locations. Lebanese officials and UN officials condemned the scale of the killing, with the UN Human Rights Chief calling the destruction “horrific” and incompatible with recent diplomatic efforts.
Hezbollah, which entered the conflict supporting Iran after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, has since launched rockets and drones into northern Israel, prompting Israeli aerial and ground responses in southern Lebanon. The group vowed to continue fighting until what it calls “Israeli-American aggression” ends.
Medical workers in Lebanon report that funerals for fallen colleagues have become nearly weekly occurrences, with attacks on ambulances and clinics reported almost daily along the front lines in the south.
This follows our earlier report, Donald Trump announces first Israel-Lebanon leader talks in 34 years.
While Israel says it eliminated a significant portion of Hezbollah’s leadership in the minute-long strike, the simultaneous targeting of medical responders raises questions about the precision and intent of operations in densely populated areas where militant operatives and civilians are often intermingled.
<!– wp:heading>What protections do medical workers have under international law during conflict?
</!- /wp:heading –>Under the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel, transports, and facilities are protected and must not be attacked, regardless of their affiliation, as long as they are exclusively engaged in medical duties and do not commit acts harmful to the enemy.
<!– wp:heading>How has the pattern of Israeli strikes on medical teams in Lebanon changed recently?
</!- /wp:heading –>Rescuers say they have evolved from fearing double-tap strikes — where a second bomb hits those who come to help — to now expecting three or more follow-up attacks, leading to the term “quadruple tap” to describe the escalating tactic.