Israel strike kills school principal, mother and two others in south Lebanon

Four civilians were killed on Monday when an Israeli strike hit a vehicle in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said. The victims were school principal Esperanza Ghandour, her mother, a domestic worker and a foreign labourer. The Israeli military said the vehicle was approaching a "security zone" it has established about 10 km inside Lebanon and posed a threat to its forces.

The attack came as the cease‑fire announced last month, which had sharply reduced violence in the Lebanon‑Israel border area, was being tested. Residents of Nabatieh had considered the neighbourhood safe, but the strike shattered the limited sense of security that had returned. The cease‑fire was negotiated by the United States and Qatar with Iranian assistance, while Israel says the zone is needed to protect northern Israeli communities from Hezbollah attacks.

The incident highlights the ongoing spill‑over of the wider U.S.–Israeli‑Iran conflict into Lebanon, where more than 4,300 people have been killed since the fighting escalated in March.