'Israel' accuses Hezbollah of "deliberately" placing civilians in military compound

• ‘Israel’ accused Hezbollah of using civilians as “human shields” after strikes on Nabatieh and Ansar killed 11 people.
• The claim comes after Hezbollah attacks reportedly wounded three ‘Israeli’ soldiers.

The office of ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hezbollah of “deliberately” placing civilians in harm’s way after ‘Israeli’ forces struck Lebanon’s Nabatieh and Ansar areas, killing 11 people.

In a statement on X, Netanyahu’s office said Hezbollah had attacked ‘Israeli’ troops, seriously injuring three soldiers. It said the military responded by striking what it described as a Hezbollah headquarters.

The statement said the military only later learned that Hezbollah had allegedly placed civilians inside the compound.

“Hezbollah is willing to do anything, including using its own civilians as human shields, to falsely accuse Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, which the [military] clearly did not,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The claim has not been independently verified.

‘Israeli’ forces have previously used similar allegations to justify attacks on civilian areas and protected facilities in the Gaza Strip, while issuing evacuation orders to large areas of the territory.

Among the facilities targeted during the Gaza war was al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex, which ‘Israel’ accused of being used by Hamas. Israeli forces raided the hospital in November 2023.

The latest strikes in Lebanon come amid heightened tensions between ‘Israel’ and Hezbollah, with the violence raising renewed concerns over a wider escalation across the region.