In a statement released on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei referred to the escalation of attacks by the Zionist regime and the expansion of military assaults to the historic Lebanese cities of Tyre, Nabatieh, and Sidon, saying the silence and indifference of international bodies, particularly the UN Security Council, have emboldened the Israeli regime to continue its aggression and crimes.
He also noted that the US administration is considered complicit and a partner in all crimes committed by the Israeli regime in Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territories, and the wider region.
Baqaei also offered condolences over the martyrdom of senior Al-Alam network correspondent Hussam Zeidan to his family, the Al-Alam media network, and the media community in Lebanon and across the world.
Referring to the killing of more than 300 journalists by the Israeli regime in Palestine and Lebanon over the past three years, the Iranian spokesman stressed the responsibility of the international community to hold the occupying criminals accountable and punish them for committing grave international crimes.
Baqaei praised the legendary patience and resilience of the Lebanese people in the face of Israeli aggression and occupation, and extended condolences to the families of the martyrs and the people of Lebanon.
He also emphasized the full solidarity of the Islamic Republic of Iran with Lebanon in defending its sovereignty, dignity, and independence against the colonial and expansionist ambitions of the Israeli occupying regime.
The Israeli regime has intensified its assault in south of Lebanon in recent days and issued mass displacement orders across the region.
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Thursday that an Israeli air strike south of Beirut killed a woman and two children, after the Israeli regime’s army said it “precisely struck” the city without identifying the target. This was the first strike on the Lebanese capital in three weeks.
Earlier in the day, state-run National News Agency reported that among the casualties in southern Lebanon, there were six people belonging to the same family who were killed in an Israeli drone strike as they were trying to flee at dawn along the Adloun Highway, a key route linking Sidon and Tyre.
The attack came as Israel expanded its bombardment across the south, hitting residential areas, roads and civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike in the Nabatieh area, the latest in a string of attacks targeting military personnel. Other soldiers have also been killed in recent days in strikes across southern Lebanon and the western Beqaa Valley.
Israel has also issued sweeping displacement orders covering large parts of the south, including Tyre and surrounding areas. Residents were told to evacuate immediately and move north of the Zahrani River, roughly 40km from the border.
The orders, shared on social media with marked buildings, have forced thousands of people to flee under threat of attack.