Bombay Durpun - Lebanon PM says working to get Israeli troop withdrawal

The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that one of its paramedics had killed in the south.

They said its teams had been "directly targeted by an Israeli drone" while on a humanitarian mission, even though "the ambulances and their crews bore the protective Red Cross emblem".

Secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, said he was "appalled and saddened" at the killing of a second Lebanese Red Cross volunteer in weeks.

The United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said an Israeli tank rammed its vehicles on two occasions, "in one case causing significant damage".

Israel says the fragile temporary ceasefire in the wider Middle East war does not apply to its battle with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

It has kept up its attacks on the country as the militants fight back.

"We will continue to work to stop this war, to ensure the Israeli withdrawal from all our lands," Salam said in a televised address.

"We are continuing our efforts... to negotiate to stop the war," he added, ahead of planned talks on Tuesday in Washington between Lebanese, Israeli and US officials.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader.

Israel has responded with massive strikes and a ground invasion.

- 'Accountability' -

Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces had eliminated the threat of an invasion by Hezbollah militants during a visit to troops in southern Lebanon.

But he added: "There is still more to do, and we are doing it.

"The war continues, including within the security zone in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said that Israel wants to establish a "security zone" in south Lebanon to help prevent Hezbollah attacks.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli attacks on dozens of locations in the south on Sunday, with additional strikes on the adjacent West Bekaa area.

The health ministry raised the war's overall toll to more than 2,050 dead, including 165 children and more than 80 health workers.

The Lebanese Red Cross condemned attacks on its personnel as "clear and blatant violations of all provisions of international law".

Before Sunday's deadly mission, which also wounded another paramedic, "the necessary contacts were made with UNIFIL for protection and safe passage", it said.

Israel's military has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using ambulances for military ends.

Lebanon's health ministry also said an Israeli strike on Qana killed five people, including three women, and wounded 25 others.

An AFP photographer in the southern town saw significant destruction as an excavator worked to clear debris and first responders carried a body out from under the rubble.

- 'Moral obligation' -

In south Lebanon's Bazuriyeh, Hassan Berro, a rescue worker from the Risala Scout association -- which is affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement -- said: "Our emergency centre was hit and completely destroyed, along with all its contents, including beds and medical equipment."

The AFP photographer saw windows shattered and debris covering several hospital beds in the building, where walls and ceilings were also damaged.

Also Sunday, the Israeli army accused Hezbollah of using a hospital compound in south Lebanon's Bint Jbeil "for military purposes".

Pope Leo XIV, who visited Lebanon late last year, expressed his closeness to the Lebanese people on Sunday.

He said there was a "moral obligation to protect the civilian population from the atrocious effects of war".

G.Tara--BD