Hamas Official Said Killed by Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Debris is strewn along a street and vehicles after a residential apartment block was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Debris is strewn along a street and vehicles after a residential apartment block was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Hamas Official Said Killed by Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Debris is strewn along a street and vehicles after a residential apartment block was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Debris is strewn along a street and vehicles after a residential apartment block was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

A Hamas source said an Israeli strike on south Lebanon on Sunday killed an official from the Palestinian group as Hezbollah said it fired an "advanced missile" at an air base near Tel Aviv. 

Israel said no direct talks were planned with Lebanon to end the latest war which has been raging for two weeks. The statement came a day after a Lebanese official said Beirut was preparing a delegation to negotiate with Israel. 

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes, with Israel launching air raids on the neighboring country and troop incursions into border areas. 

Lebanese authorities said the death toll in Israeli attacks rose to 850, while more than 830,000 people have registered as displaced. 

Driving rain on Sunday piled more misery on displaced people, hundreds of whom have been sleeping rough or in tents near central Beirut's seafront. 

Coffee shop owner Nader, 42, displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs, said he had rebuilt his home after it was destroyed in 2024 during the previous Israel-Hezbollah conflict but "I am sure they have destroyed it again... but I haven't been able to check." 

"Here we have nothing and the situation is very bad with the heavy rains and wind -- it's very cold, lots of babies are sick and we can't protect them," he told AFP. 

- 'No' talks - 

The state-run National News Agency said Israel struck "an apartment in a residential building" in a northern district of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person and causing a fire. 

An AFP correspondent saw damage to the third storey of an apartment building as the army cordoned off the area and rescue teams worked to extinguish the blaze and residents rushed into the street, some carrying belongings. 

The Hamas source, requesting anonymity, said the strike killed official Wissam Taha. 

Israel has repeatedly struck Hamas targets in Lebanon in recent years, including during previous hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that erupted over the Gaza war, and after a 2024 ceasefire. 

Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on sites in Israel and on Israeli troops in south Lebanon on Sunday, including one that it said targeted the Palmachim air base south of Tel Aviv, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Lebanese-Israeli border, with "an advanced missile". 

The Israeli military said in a statement Sunday it continued to strike infrastructure used by Hezbollah throughout Lebanon. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has proposed direct negotiations with Israel, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday responded "no" when asked whether Israel was set to hold such talks. 

- Debris - 

A Lebanese official had told AFP on Saturday that the country was preparing to form a delegation to negotiate with Israel but that there was no agenda, timing or location yet decided for any talks. 

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the Lebanese government was ready to engage in "direct talks" with Israel and he offered to host negotiations in Paris, warning that "everything must be done to prevent Lebanon from descending into chaos". 

The NNA reported Israeli strikes on various areas of the country's south and east, while Israel's military renewed an evacuation warning for Beirut's southern suburbs, which it has repeatedly struck in the past fortnight. 

An AFP photographer in south Beirut saw empty streets covered with debris and buildings flattened, with smoke still rising in the area after strikes in previous days. 

Southeast of Sidon, in the village of Al-Qatrani, three people were killed in an overnight Israeli strike, according to Lebanon's health ministry. 

The Israeli military said it hit "several Hezbollah launch sites" in Al-Qatrani, where it said the armed group was preparing to fire off missiles. 

It also said it had destroyed "command centers" belonging to Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force in Beirut. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on Sunday "likely by non-state armed groups" in the country's south, two days after another position was hit by fire. 

"Today, UNIFIL peacekeepers were fired upon, likely by non-state armed groups, on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases" in south Lebanon, the force said, adding that "two patrols returned fire in self-defense and after brief exchanges, the patrols resumed their planned activities. No peacekeeper was injured." 



UN Force in Lebanon Says Peacekeepers Fired Upon ‘Likely by Non-State Armed Groups’

United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Force in Lebanon Says Peacekeepers Fired Upon ‘Likely by Non-State Armed Groups’

United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on Sunday, "likely by non-state armed groups" in the country's south.

The incident came two days after a different UN position was hit by fire that official Lebanese media blamed on Israel, with UNIFIL saying it was investigating.

"Today, UNIFIL peacekeepers were fired upon, likely by non-state armed groups, on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases" in south Lebanon, the force said in a statement.

In one of the locations, the fire struck "as close as five meters from the peacekeepers", it added.

"Two patrols returned fire in self-defense and after brief exchanges, the patrols resumed their planned activities. No peacekeeper was injured," the statement said.

"We strongly remind all actors of their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times."

Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on March 2, when the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah attacked Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel has since launched waves of air strikes on its northern neighbor and deployed troop into border areas, while Hezbollah has launched rockets and missiles towards Israeli territory and troops.

Lebanese state media said that Israeli fire hit a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon on Friday.

UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said the position was hit "likely by heavy machine gun fire", without identifying the source, and said an investigation had been launched into the incident, which left one peacekeeper lightly wounded.

Earlier this month, three peacekeepers serving with a Ghanaian contingent were wounded in south Lebanon, with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accusing Israel of being responsible and UNIFIL saying it would investigate.

On Saturday, during a visit to Beirut, UN chief Antonio Guterres said attacks against peacekeepers and their positions were "completely unacceptable and... may constitute war crimes".

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. Its mission concludes at the end of this year.


WHO Releases $2 Million in Emergency Funds to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria

 A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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WHO Releases $2 Million in Emergency Funds to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria

 A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)

The World ‌Health Organization said on Sunday it had released $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amidst the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The conflict has triggered a large-scale population movement, the WHO ‌said last week, ‌estimating that more ‌than 100,000 ⁠people in Iran ⁠have relocated, and up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced.

$1 million has been allocated to Lebanon to strengthen the WHO's emergency coordination ⁠through the Public Health Emergency Operations ‌Center, scale ‌up trauma care, reinforce disease surveillance, ‌and procure and distribute essential ‌medicines and medical supplies, the agency said in a statement.

Iraq and Syria have each been allocated $500,000 to support emergency ‌coordination and mass-casualty management, procure and distribute essential medicines ⁠and ⁠supplies, provide health services for displaced populations, and strengthen disease surveillance and community outreach, it added.

"At a time when health services are already facing significant challenges, support is essential to sustain frontline health workers and maintain critical care services," Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean said.


In Heavy Rain, Lebanese Fleeing War Huddle Under Makeshift Shelters

 A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
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In Heavy Rain, Lebanese Fleeing War Huddle Under Makeshift Shelters

 A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)

Hussein Murtada and his ‌family are camping in the back of a small truck, a flimsy tarpaulin shielding them from a storm on Sunday, with no room left at shelters for displaced people in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

"We are putting tarp over it because we're soaked," said Murtada, using string to fasten the plastic sheet over the back of the truck parked on the seafront. Inside, an infant peered out, surrounded by pillows, blankets and other possessions.

"I asked here at the schools and they are full, they're all full," said Murtada, who fled the town of Hanawiya, some 12 km (8 miles) ‌from the ‌border with Israel, with his family of seven.

"What ‌should ⁠I ask for? ⁠I just want a shelter for me and the children," Murtada added.

More than 800,000 people, around 15% of Lebanon's population, have had to flee their homes since Israel began an offensive in the country after the Lebanese Hezbollah group opened fire at Israel in support of its ally Iran on March 2.

It has dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict just 15 months ⁠since the last Israel-Hezbollah war.

Only a fraction of ‌the displaced - some 132,000 according to Lebanese ‌authorities - are in collective shelters. The rest are scattered elsewhere, some with relatives, others ‌in half-finished buildings or host communities and many in the streets.

Mohammad Marie, ‌who fled the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, has been sheltering under a tree on Beirut's seafront Corniche, protected by a plastic sheet before it was blown away.

"It might keep raining for a week, so where will I go? ‌I will stay here, what else can I do? I have no shelter except here, under this tree," ⁠Marie said, his ⁠clothes soaked through.

"I don't have a tent, I don't have anything, and my financial situation is very difficult. I have no money to rent a house," he said.

The United Nations launched a $308 million flash appeal on Friday to help Lebanon cope with the fallout of the war.

Israeli attacks have killed 850 people and wounded more than 2,100 others in Lebanon since March 2, including 107 children and 66 women, the Lebanese health ministry said on Sunday. Its toll does not say how many of the casualties were combatants.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, while no fatalities have been reported in Israel as a result of Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks since March 2.