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WHO: Attacks in Southern Lebanon Killed 9 Paramedics

Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine holds up a picture of an ambulance damaged in an Israeli air strike during a press conference at the Ministry of Health in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 March 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine holds up a picture of an ambulance damaged in an Israeli air strike during a press conference at the Ministry of Health in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 March 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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WHO: Attacks in Southern Lebanon Killed 9 Paramedics

Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine holds up a picture of an ambulance damaged in an Israeli air strike during a press conference at the Ministry of Health in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 March 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine holds up a picture of an ambulance damaged in an Israeli air strike during a press conference at the Ministry of Health in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 March 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

The World Health Organization said on Saturday that nine paramedics were killed and seven others wounded in five separate attacks on health care in ⁠southern Lebanon.

The latest incidents ⁠struck medical teams in five separate villages, WHO Director-General Tedros ⁠Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.

He added that the repeated strikes have severely disrupted health services in southern Lebanon.

Four hospitals and ⁠51 primary ⁠healthcare centers are now closed, with several other facilities operating at reduced capacity, he said.

Lebanese Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine said Saturday he will submit a comprehensive legal file to the Cabinet as a step toward lodging a complaint with the UN Security Council over Israeli attacks on the health sector.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, at least 1,189 people have been killed and over 3,427 others injured in Israeli airstrikes across Beirut's southern suburbs and villages in southern and eastern Lebanon since the start of renewed hostilities.

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Arab World

Report: Iran’s Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon Despite Expulsion

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani, shows his ink-stained finger as he votes in the first round of the Iranian presidential election on June 14, 2013 at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. (AFP)
Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani, shows his ink-stained finger as he votes in the first round of the Iranian presidential election on June 14, 2013 at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. (AFP)
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Report: Iran’s Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon Despite Expulsion

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani, shows his ink-stained finger as he votes in the first round of the Iranian presidential election on June 14, 2013 at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. (AFP)
Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani, shows his ink-stained finger as he votes in the first round of the Iranian presidential election on June 14, 2013 at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. (AFP)

Iran's ambassador will not leave Lebanon despite being declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country by Sunday, an Iranian diplomatic source told AFP.

"The ambassador will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the wishes of the speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and of Hezbollah," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hezbollah has denounced the decision while Berri's Amal party joined Hezbollah ministers in boycotting a cabinet session this week in protest at the order to expel Mohammad Reza Sheibani.

The foreign ministry this week gave Tehran's envoy until Sunday to leave in the latest unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted on March 2 between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ministry accused him of making statements "interfering in Lebanon's internal politics".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called the expulsion "a courageous decision".

The Lebanese authorities have banned Hezbollah's military and security activities. It is the only armed non-state group in the country and a close ally of Iran.

It has also banned the presence and operations of Iran's Revolutionary Guards whom Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused of directing Hezbollah operations against Israel.

Arab World

Netanyahu Says Israel Will Widen Its Invasion of Southern Lebanon

Israeli army soldiers walk next to a self-propelled Howitzer artillery gun positioned in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on March 29, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli army soldiers walk next to a self-propelled Howitzer artillery gun positioned in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on March 29, 2026. (AFP)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Widen Its Invasion of Southern Lebanon

Israeli army soldiers walk next to a self-propelled Howitzer artillery gun positioned in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on March 29, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli army soldiers walk next to a self-propelled Howitzer artillery gun positioned in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on March 29, 2026. (AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel will widen its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu said Israel would expand what he called the “existing security strip” in Lebanon as Israeli forces continue to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

“We are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north,” he said on a visit to northern Israel.

Netanyahu said Hezbollah still retained "residual capabilities" to fire rockets at Israel, but the group had been severely hit by Israeli forces.

"Iran is no longer the same Iran, Hezbollah is no longer the same Hezbollah, and Hamas is no longer the same Hamas," he added.

"These are no longer terrorist armies threatening our existence -- they are defeated enemies, fighting for their own survival."

"We are determined, we are fighting, and with God's help -- we are winning," Netanyahu said.

There were no immediate details.

In Lebanon, officials say more than 1,100 people have been killed and more than one million displaced since the Iran war began.

Arab World

France Condemns Houthis for Entering Middle East War

A satellite image shows Bab el-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2026. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows Bab el-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2026. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
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France Condemns Houthis for Entering Middle East War

A satellite image shows Bab el-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2026. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows Bab el-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2026. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)

France condemned on Sunday two attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants on Israeli targets, accusing them of escalating tension in the Middle East by entering the regional war.

A Houthi spokesman said on Saturday the Iranian-backed group had fired missiles and drones towards "several vital and military sites" in Israel, the same day that Israel said it had intensified attacks on Iran's military industry.

The escalation came after more than a month of Israeli and US bombardment of Iran, to which Iran has responded by attacking US-linked interests in wealthy Gulf states.

"The Houthis should abstain from all attacks," French foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said. He accused them of being "irresponsible".

He said everything should be done "to avoid an even greater escalation of the conflict", which has killed thousands across the region and sent energy markets into a tailspin.

The war has disrupted global maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Gulf through which a fifth of the world's crude supplies pass, along with substantial shipments of gas and fertilizers.

The only alternative routes are to sail through the Red Sea on the other side of the Arabian peninsula or make the much lengthier journey around the tip of southern Africa.

From Yemen, the Houthis could potentially disrupt shipping through the Red Sea, as they did at the height of Israel's war on Gaza.

The European Union said on March 16 it would not extend the bloc's existing naval mission in the Red Sea to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump had lashed out at EU and NATO countries for not agreeing to escort ships through the strait.