On MarCh 19, 2026, the citizen Ayed Ezzat Arar (60 years old), from the town of Qarawat Bani Zaid, north of Ramallah, died this afternoon, Thursday, following a heart attack, which followed two colonists storming the park where he was working as a guard. Medical sources reported to Wafa that citizen Arar died as a result of a heart attack after a group of colonists gathered around him while he was doing his work in Sofia Park, in Salfit

On March 16, Israeli snipers shot two 16-year-old Palestinians, Fathi Ali Fathi Sahouri and Salim Sami Salim Faqha, both from the nearby town of Sinjil, near the entrance to Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. It was not immediately clear whether the teenagers survived the shooting. Witnesses said soldiers closed the road within minutes, surrounding the scene and preventing anyone from approaching. The army claimed that the soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who hurled stones at the military vehicles. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces prevented its medical crews from reaching the wounded near the Sinjil junction, while local sources said the army withheld the injured and declared the area a closed military zone. Residents described watching paramedics being turned back while the injured were left on the ground under armed guard. Several residents who tried to move toward the area were threatened by soldiers and ordered to remain inside nearby homes and shops. Soldiers stopped vehicles, interrogated residents, and restricted movement across the town. Drones were seen circling overhead as troops moved between residential blocks, creating a tense atmosphere that lasted late into the night. Following the shooting, a large Israeli military force invaded Sinjil, spreading through multiple neighborhoods and conducting searches in homes and commercial properties. The General Authority of Civil Affairs confirmed Israeli forces shot and killed 17‑year‑old Salim Sami Salim Fuqaha and moderately wounded another Palestinian who remains in moderate condition. The Israeli authorities immediately seized his body, denying his family the ability to recover it. The military’s refusal to allow medical intervention lasted for an extended period, a pattern that has become increasingly common in similar incidents across the central West Bank. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the combination of lethal force and the systematic obstruction of medical teams inflict heightened risk on the Palestinians. As of Monday night, Israel continued to withhold the teenager’s body, part of a long‑standing Israeli policy of retaining the remains of Palestinians killed by its forces. Rights groups have condemned the practice as a form of collective punishment that inflicts additional suffering on families already grieving their loss. **Name of the martyr:** Salim Sami Salmi Fuqaha, 16 y/o **Defense for Children Palestine investigation:** "Salim Sami Salmi Fuqaha, 16, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 10 p.m. on March 16 near the village of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Israeli forces opened fire on Salim and 15-year-old Fathi Ali Fathi Al-Sahouri, who survived the attack, then prevented Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics from reaching the boys for two and a half hours. (2,5 hours) Israeli forces confiscated Salim’s body, and therefore DCIP cannot confirm the number or nature of his injuries. Paramedics brought Fathi to Istishari Hospital in Ramallah, where he is currently receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The shooting took place in an area near the barrier established by Israeli forces about a year and a half ago on land belonging to the village of Sinjil, isolating it from Route 60, which has led to escalating tensions in the area. This area frequently witnesses live fire by Israeli forces toward anyone suspected of being present nearby, without distinction, making it a dangerous zone that constantly threatens civilians’ lives. **Broader context:** Israeli forces have killed seven Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2026, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers killed 56 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025. Israeli forces have withheld the bodies of at least 64 Palestinian children since June 2016, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Six of the children’s bodies have since been released to their families, while 58 Palestinian children’s bodies remain withheld by Israeli authorities. Israel’s practice of withholding Palestinian bodies is a form of collective punishment, a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and deprives Palestinian families of the ability to lay their children to rest.

On March 15, 2026, Eight Palestinian police officers were killed and 14 people injured after Israeli aircraft struck a police vehicle on Salah al-Din Street near the entrance to Al-Zawayda, in the Central Governorate of the Gaza Strip. An Israeli air strike on a police vehicle in central Gaza killed eight officers on Sunday, hospital officials said, as violence continues to test a fragile ceasefire in the war-battered territory. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah said the bodies of eight victims were brought in after a police vehicle was struck in the nearby town of Zawaida. Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the dead include Col. Iyad Abu Yusuf, director of the Central Governorate Intervention Police, along with seven other officers. **Names of the martyrs:** According to reports from Gaza’s Interior Ministry and regional media, the eight police officers killed in the Israeli strike on a police vehicle near al-Zawaida (central Gaza) on 15 March 2026 included the following names: 1) Col. Iyad Abu Yousef – head of the Intervention Police in the Central Governorate 2) Abdul Rahman Al-Amassi 3) Wissam Al-Hafi 4) Yousef Meet (or Maite) 5) Musab Al-Durra 6) Fathi Oweida 7) Rami Harb 8) Abdullah Abu Shaar (name sometimes reported with slight spelling variations) The following name was also spreaded: 9) Tawfiq Al-Khalidi

On March 15, around 01:30, the Israeli special forces infiltrated the town of Tammun Tubas goverorate, in the northern West Bank. Local residents said an Israel Defense Forces special unit entered Tammun in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates, followed by reinforcements from nearby checkpoints. They opened fire with automatic weapons at a Palestinian family of 6 while they were returning home. According to online testimonies, they had gone to get some festive clothes. Four members of the same family were executed from point-blank range (the father, the mother, and their two children). All were fatally shot in the head and face; the father was also hit in the chest and hand. Their other two children, Mustafa, 8, and Khaled, 11, sustained minor shrapnel injuries to the head and face. One of the killed children, Othman, 7 y/o, had special needs (blind). Israeli army reinforcements stormed then Tammun, arriving from the Ein Shibli Checkpoint and the Tayasir Checkpoint, spread throughout the town, and prevented residents from approaching or rescuing the victims. After Israeli army executed the two children and their mother and father while they were in their car, Israeli army towed their car away withe the bodies, but later allowing the Red Crescent to bring them along with the two injured children. In a related incident, Israeli forces also arrested Mahmoud Hassan Bani Odeh and his son Hassan, 19, after raiding their home in Tammun. They also detained the child Yaman Hossam Bani Odeh, 15. They withdrew at 04:10. ## **Casulaties** **Names of the martyrs:** 1) Ali Khaled Sayel Bani Odeh, 37 years old (father), shot in the head, face, chest, and left hand. 2) Waad Othman Aql Bani Odeh, 35 years old (mother), shot in the face and head. 3) Mohammad Ali Khaled Bani Odeh, 5 years old, shot in the face and head. 4) Othman Ali Khaled Bani Odeh, 7 years old, Child withe special need (blind), shot in the face and head. **Injured:** The 3 wounded as a result of shooting by the occupation forces at a vehicle (which they were traveling in alongside their father, mother, and two brothers who were martyred) in the town of Tammoun are: Mustafa Ali Khaled Sayel Bani Odeh, 8 years old, and his brother Khaled, 11 years old, in addition to the female citizen - Nesma Hossam Bani Mustafa Bani. **Testimonies of the both surviving brothers:** All along the day, the boys were interviewed by various media. They presented the same story, with additional details following the moment. Ali Khaled released at least 3 testimonies. Khaled shared that an Israeli soldier removed him from the vehicle by his hair after shooting. "He said, 'We killed some dogs,' He threw him on the ground and jump on his back, shoot him with their combat boots. Then, soldiers placked him on a wall and threatened him. After that, they took me to a Jeep and searched me. They asked me, 'who was with you in the car?' When I said, 'my mother, father and brothers,' he started yelling at me, calling me 'liar, liar.'. In the jeep, the brothers were stripped and threatened. Ali Khaled asked a soldier if he loved his dad and his mom. When the soldier said yes, Ali Khaled asked him why he had killed his own parents. At that moment, the soldier punched him in the face. **Investigation of the Palestinian Human Right center:** According to information collected by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)’s field researchers regarding the killing of four members of one family in Tubas, at approximately 01:30 on Sunday, 15 March 2025, an Israeli special unit force infiltrated Tammoun using a refrigerated truck bearing a Palestinian registration plate and surrounded a house belonging to Mahmoud Hasan Bani ‘Odah (45). The force arrested his son, Hasan (20). Moments later, several IOF military vehicles stormed the village to secure the withdrawal of the special unit. During this time, IOF soldiers opened direct fire from only a few meters away at a vehicle carrying a Palestinian family traveling in the al-Babour area in the village center. As a result of the shooting, ‘Ali Khaled Sayel Bani ‘Odah (37), who was driving the vehicle, was killed after being struck by several bullets to the head, face, and chest. His wife, Wa’ed ‘Othman ‘Aqel Bani ‘Odah (35), was also killed after being hit by several bullets to the face and head. Their children, Mohammed (5) and ‘Othman (7), were also killed after being struck by multiple bullets. In the same incident, their two other children were wounded: Mustafa (8), who was hit with shrapnel in the eye and head, and Khaled (11), who sustained shrapnel wounds to the head. All of them were transferred to the Turkish Hospital in Tubas for medical treatment. **Investigation of Defense for Children - Palestine:** Othman Ali Khaled Bani Odeh, six, and his brother Mohammad, five, were shot and killed by Israeli forces while riding in the backseat of their family’s car around 1:30 a.m. on March 15 in the western area of the Palestinian town of Tammoun in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Israeli special forces opened fire suddenly and without warning on the car from a distance of about 50 meters (164 feet) away. Parents Ali and Waad and their four children were returning to their home in Tammoun from a visit to Nablus that evening. The shooting continued for about three minutes, after which the family’s two older sons, 11-year-old Khaled and eight-year-old Mustafa, got out of the car and cried out for help. Israeli forces arrived on scene shortly after, physically assaulting the two boys and preventing paramedics from reaching the wounded family members still inside the car. After about 30 minutes, Israeli forces finally permitted paramedics to reach the family, and all six of them were transported to the Turkish Governmental Hospital in Tubas. Othman and Mohammad, along with their parents, were pronounced dead on arrival. Othman was shot in the face and also sustained shrapnel injuries to the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. Mohammad suffered shrapnel injuries to the face, head, left eye, neck, chest, and shoulders, according to the medical report issued by the hospital and by Palestine Red Crescent Society medical teams. Khaled and Mustafa survived the attack but both sustained shrapnel wounds.

On March 14, 2026, Israeli settlers carried out a violent attack in the village of Qusra in the West Bank, killing 25-year-old Ameer Motasem Odeh and injuring three others, including his father, who was brutally beaten. One of the injured remains in critical condition. The assault occurred in the Al-Karak area west of Qusra, southeast of Nablus, where armed settlers opened live fire toward homes and residents. Medical sources reported that Odeh was shot in the chest with live ammunition, while two others were wounded in the knee and thigh, and his father suffered assault-related injuries. The injured were initially treated at a local medical center, and both Odeh and another victim were later transferred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, where doctors attempted resuscitation. Odeh was pronounced dead. Mayor Hani Odeh confirmed that the settlers’ attack targeted young men and homes in the town, leaving the community shaken. ## Timeline of the event (according to the Haaretz journalsist Matan Golan) Reports indicate that since the early afternoon, a rolling settler attack targeted houses on the hilltop near the outpost deep in Area B, from where the attack on three activists from “Looking the Occupation in the Eye” occurred two weeks ago. Since then, settlers have been roaming daily among the houses, terrorizing residents and acting as if the hill belongs to them. **Around 2:20 p.m.**, a report (with attached video) indicated that settlers threw stones at a truck driver, who managed to escape. Residents say they called the police, who informed them that the army was on its way. **Around 3:00 p.m.**, masked settlers were seen moving between houses, including a settler carrying a long weapon. The cries of frightened children can be heard from a house. Residents reported that they called security forces again. **By 4:00 p.m.**, reports say that an Israeli force arrived on the hill, and gunfire was heard in the footage, though no injuries were reported at that time. Around this stage, there were reports of stones being thrown back and forth between houses, and later footage shows soldiers alongside the settlers. According to multiple eyewitnesses, the army left the hill around **4:50 p.m.**, while the settlers remained. **At 5:15 p.m.**, a report came in that settlers were attacking an inhabited house, smashing windows, and that residents had gone out to help the family, resulting in a confrontation with the settlers. Eyewitnesses stated that the settlers shot and killed Ameer Motasem Odeh and injured three others, reportedly fired at dozens of meters from the houses. ## **Casulaties** **Name of the martyr:** Amir Moatasem Mahmoud Odeh, 25 **Other casulaties:** Amir Mu’tasim Odeh, father of Amir

During the third week of March 2026, Israeli forces began implementing a plan to isolate the South of Lebanon, separating areas south of the Litani River from those to the north by targeting several key bridges: Deir Mimas–Marjayoun, Khardali–Marjayoun, Tayr Felsay–Zrariyeh, and the Wadi al-Hujeir–Qantara bridge. On Wednesday March 18, the Israeli army spokesperson announced strikes on Litani River crossings, claiming the need to prevent Hezbollah from moving weapons. So far, the Qaaqaaiyeh bridge, the inner bridge in Qasmieh and the temporary crossing in Burj Rahhal have been targeted. **Hala Jaber Aanalysis concerning this operation** *"Israel has struck the Qasmiya Bridge over the Litani River in southern Lebanon, one of the last major crossings on the coastal highway. This is not just another “military target.” The Qasmiya Bridge is a key civilian artery linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country. Cut it, & you isolate entire communities, restricting movement of civilians, ambulances, aid, & daily life. Southern Lebanon is one of the country’s main agricultural regions. Citrus groves, vineyards, orchards, & farms supply Beirut & beyond. Cut the crossings, & you don’t just isolate people, you disrupt food supply chains. The Litani River has long been treated as a strategic line. Striking bridges along it reinforces that divide، physically & operationally. This is not just about targeting. It is about shaping geography. Over one million Lebanese remain displaced. Entire villages have been flattened. And within the past 48 hours, Israeli voices have openly discussed expansion south of the Litani, including permanent settlements. At the same time, settler-linked groups tied to Uri Tzafon are already advertising properties in southern Lebanon for sale. Treating the land as if it is already theirs. 7/ Destroying bridges does not just target armed groups. It isolates populations, disrupts livelihoods, & prepares the ground. This is how a “temporary buffer zone” begins to look permanent. Lebanon’s President condemned the strike on the Qasmiya Bridge, calling it a dangerous escalation & a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty. He warns that targeting bridges over the Litani aims to sever geographic connectivity between the south & the rest of the country, & forms part of plans to impose a buffer zone & entrench occupation. This is how a buffer zone becomes a border"* ## **Timeline of the destruction:** The strikes come after Israel yesterday issued a mass forced displacement order covering the entire area south of the Zahrani River, roughly 15% of Lebanon’s territory. Almost 700 civilians in Lebanon have been killed, at least 1770 injured and at least 800,000 forcibly displaced from their homes, approximately 14% of the population, according to the UN, since March 2 **March 12:** Israeli bombed the "Bridge of February 6", that connects Saida to Zahrani. The bridge is next to a Lebanese army checkpoint. They struk also the Al Qantara bridge, Coordinates: 33.277849, 35.446029. This river is a tributary of the Litani. **March 13**: in the morning the Israeli forces struck the Zrariyeh bridge over Lebanon’s Litani River, following yesterday’s destruction of the Qantara bridge in Wadi al-Hujeir, marking the first two aggressions targeting major crossings linking the area south of the Litani with the rest of Lebanon since the July 2006 war of aggression. Zarariya-Tirseflay bridge, Coordinates: 33.3264093, 35.3428654 **March 14**, Israel struck the Khordali Bridge over the Litani River this morning, linking Marjeyoun and Nabatieh. A day earlier, it also targeted another Litani crossing — the Zrariyeh Bridge. Khardali bridge: Coordinates: 33.342372, 35.543112 **March 18 and 19**, Israel struk twice the Al-Kinayat bridge. As above, the initial strike failed to destroy the bridge. A follow-up one day later destroyed the bridge and injured British RT journalist Steve Sweeney. **March 22**, Israeli occupation forces struck the Qasmiyeh Bridge linking Tyre and Sidon in southern Lebanon. Israel claims the aim is to block Hezbollah reinforcements, but in reality it is about pressuring civilians and fragmenting communities. **March 18 and 23**, Israel struk the Qaaqaaiet Al Jisr bridge. An initial attack on 18 March damaged the bridge, a follow-up strike on 23 March rendered it impassable. **On April 8**, The Israeli chief of staff Eyal Zamir stated at a press conference that 'South Litani is cut off from the rest of Lebanon,' following the Israeli air force's bombing Wednesday evening of the last bridge connecting the Sour region to the north, on the coastal road. “Ground maneuvers are currently continuing in southern Lebanon. Our forces have positioned themselves on the front line of defense, and control of this area allows us to prevent direct fire on the northern settlements,” . **On April 16**, Israel heavily struck again the Qasmieh bridge, the last partially main operational crossing into the area south of the Litani River. Israeli forces struck the Qasmiya bridge, a Lebanese army checkpoint, the 220 kV power line, and communication networks in two attacks, killing one and wounding three, including a soldier. The checkpoint has been evacuated. The bridge is the only road linking the area to the rest of the country, its destruction would worsen the humanitarian crisis, with the south already cut off.

On the night of March 13, 2026, around 01:00, a group of 20–30 masked settlers invaded the Palestinian community of Khirbat Humsa al-Fawqa in the northern Jordan Valley. They attacked residents and human rights activists, stole hundreds of sheep and goats using vehicles and carts, and vandalized or removed security cameras. According to witnesses, the invasion lasted approximately one hour. Six people were reported lightly wounded in the attack, including four Palestinian residents and two activists from the United States and Portugal. Activists were dragged from their tents, beaten, handcuffed, and blindfolded. Witnesses also reported that all men in the community were handcuffed, while women and children were gathered in a separate tent. One activist claimed to have witnessed the sexual abuse of a Palestinian man during the assault. Later reports detail that settlers attacked men, women, and children, using clubs, knives, and other weapons. Girls were beaten in front of their handcuffed parents. Residents and activists were handcuffed, blindfolded, and thrown on the ground. Sexual abuse of a Palestinian man occurred, witnessed by family members and at least one foreign activist. Children were threatened to be killed. 300 heads of livestock (sheep and goats) were stolen, owned by the citizen Abdul Aziz Abu Al-Kabash. The looting included jewelry, mobile phones, and other valuables. Residents claim the military delayed their attempts to pursue the settlers with the stolen livestock. **Night of March 13, 2026 (around 1:00 a.m.)** More than 20 masked settlers entered the community. They split into groups and simultaneously raided tents and structures. Residents, including men, women, children, and activists, were beaten, dragged, handcuffed, and blindfolded. Children were slapped or kicked, and women were assaulted and dragged by the hair. The settlers poured water and dirt on them and threatened to rape the women, to kill the children and to displace all of them. A Palestinian man, Suhaib Abualkebash (29), was stripped (his pants were cut with a knife), beaten, and sexually assaulted : the settlers zip-tied his genitals and paraded him through his community while beating him under the eyes of his family and the foreign activists. Security cameras are destroyed early in the attack. During the attack (approx. 1 hour), victims are gathered into a tent, many bound and lying on the ground. Looting occurs: about 400 sheep, as well as jewelry, phones of residents and activists, cash, and documents like passeports are taken. Some settlers reportedly mock and humiliate victims. Violence includes beatings of men and girls, including the children. **After the attackers leave (early morning, March 13)** Victims remain bound after the settlers depart. The Israeli military (IDF) arrived roughly one hour after the attack, and the police arrived about two and a half hours later, providing limited initial medical care. Ambulances and Red Crescent teams evacuated six lightly wounded (All the residents and activists were injured. Four Adult men and two foreign activists later report hospitalization for some injuries). An Arabic-speaking officer briefly collected testimonies from the residents, while the wounded were evacuated. Evidence at the scene, including footprints, vehicle tracks, a flashlight, and broken security cameras, was documented by activists and an Israeli officer. **March 14–18, 2026 (aftermath and investigation)** Victims and witnesses file complaints with Israeli police. Police open an investigation including sexual assault and racially motivated violence. Shin Bet involvement is reported. Evidence documented on site includes zip ties, broken cameras, and vehicle tracks. Reports indicate limited accountability for settler violence in similar past cases. Human rights groups criticized the delay and the handling of the incident, arguing that the army and civil administration provide support or cover for settler violence. The Israeli authorities stated that investigations were ongoing and condemned the acts of violence, emphasizing their commitment to maintaining security and order in the area. **National and international media reports:** This case, its brutality, and the evidence of sexual assault shocked even the Israeli police, who are generally slow to defend Palestinian residents of local communities against their attackers. Two articles in U.S. media outlets, CNN and The New York Times, were published, featuring interviews with Bedouin victims conducted by their reporters. In the Knesset, this case, along with the recent killing of seven Palestinians in several villages by settlers, led to speeches denouncing “Jewish terrorism” or calling Israeli citizen for carrying a greater “protective presence.” **Casulaties** Victims included four men from the community and two human rights activists from the United States and Portugal, were all evacuated for medical treatment. One elderly resident (74) received multiple blows to the head, hands, and stomach, and handcuff marks and bruises were documented on several victims. 4 citizens sustaining bruises: Ali Issa Abu Kabash, Suhaib Ibrahim Abu Kabash, Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Kabash, and Ibrahim Issa. **Previous events:** Late February – Early March 2026 in Khirbet Humsa, a settler brings cattle close to Palestinian tents, perceived by residents as intimidation. A drone is later seen flying over the community shortly before the attack. **Perpetrators:** The attackers are described as approaching from the direction of Beka’ot settlement.

On March 12, 2026, at 16:35, the Israeli forces present near the Za'atara Junction, south of Nablus, opened fire on a vehicle in which two citizens were traveling, leading to their death. The Israeli forces opened fire on the stopped vehicle in which the two young men were traveling while they were passing near the Zaatara Junction. Israeli forces detained then their bodies. Israeli authorities claimed the men attempted a car-ramming and shooting attack, a claim repeated in Israeli military statements. However, the footage shows two soldiers firing at point-blank range through the driver’s window of a stationary vehicle, isolated from any other cars, which factually contradicts the claim that the shooting was an act of self-defense against an attack. Israeli forces closed a number of military checkpoints and gates surrounding the city of Nablus, including Awarta, Al-Murabba'a, Deir Sharaf, and the Huwwara gates, and tightened their procedures on others, causing stifling traffic crises and preventing thousands of citizens from reaching their cities, villages, and places of residence. **Names of the martyrs:** 1) Mamoun Badawi Idris Rashdan, 25 2) Muhammad Ali Bassam Youssef Badawi Rashdan, 24

In a very short time, Israeli airstriked two places in the central Gaza- West of Gaza City, on March 11 in the evening. Both are places settled by tents and fragile shelters where displaced and homeless families lives. Both are in the so-called "safe zone". **1) Strike on Displacement Tents – Sawarha Area (Central Gaza), west of Nuseirat Refugee Camp, central Gaza Strip** The strike hit makeshift shelters where civilians had taken refuge after earlier bombardments. Victims were transported to Al‑Awda Hospital by medical teams. Families held a brief farewell before burial for one of the victims. **Casualties reported:** 2 women killed, 7 people injured, including 3 children **Identified martyr:** Salsabil Anwar Farraj, 12 years old. **2) Airstrike on Building Near Displacement Tents – Area west of Gaza City** Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on a building west of Gaza City during the evening. The strike caused major structural destruction to the targeted building. Fires spread to nearby displacement tents, where civilians were staying. Families who had already fled earlier attacks panicked and evacuated again. No immediate casualties are confirmed. **Overall context for March 11, 2026:** Hospitals in Gaza reported at least one additional fatality and two wounded people in the previous 24 hours from other incidents across the enclave.

On March 9, 2026, Israeli forces shelled the village of Qalaya in the Marjayoun district, killing the priest of the Christian parish, Father Pierre Al-Rai and injuring at least 4 of residents. The shelling hit a house located in the eastern part of the village, a Christian location considered relatively safe until now. The mayor of Qlayaa, Hanna Daher, stated that the inhabitants could not explain the reasons for the attack. “We don't know why our village was bombed. The target is unclear. Qlayaa is a safe locality”, the mayor said. “The affected house is located at the east end of the village. We first heard an explosion and then the inhabitants saw smoke rising from a house to the east. Everyone rushed to the place”. The mayor said rescuers found several injured people inside the building. “When we arrived we found that the house had been hit by an artillery shell and that there were injuries inside”, he explained. “While we were trying to evacuate people, a second bullet exploded in the house. We narrowly avoided a massacre, because there were many of us on site”. **Double Tap:** Lebanese news reports stated that an Israeli Merkava tank hit a house in Qlayaa twice. The first strike wounded the owner and his wife. Father al-Rahi and other neighbors rushed to the scene to help when the tank fired a second time. Father al-Rahi was wounded from the strike and later died from his injuries. 4 other Lebanese civilians were also injured in the attack. **A terror attack in respons of the earlier public statement of the priest:** Father Pierre al-Rahi, also known by his French name Pierre el-Raï, had earlier refused, along with other priests, to obey an order by the Israeli military to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa, a Maronite village of some 8,000 inhabitants in the Marjayoun district, a few miles from the Israeli border. “We are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love,” Father al-Rahi told the France24 television channel on the steps of his church in Qlayaa March 8, a day before his death, while tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have already fled their homes fearing further violence in the Marjayoun district. **Israeli Army spin:** On Tuesday, the IDF confirmed that tanks fired at suspected terrorists attempting to enter a house near where IDF soldiers were operating in southern Lebanon, but the military's statement did not directly link the incident with the shell fire that caused Raei's fatal injuries. **Qlayaa’s Mayor Hanna Daher statement to AsiaNews:** “They say there were fighters in the house, but that’s not true. These are lies, inside, there were only the residents of the house and people from the village who came to help the wounded.” **Pope Leo XIV statement:** Pope Leo XIV expressed “profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East over the last few days — for the many innocent people, including many children, and for those who were providing them with aid, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa,” the Vatican’s Telegram channel said. The message posted by Holy See Press on Telegram said Pope Leo “is following the situation with concern and prays that all hostilities will cease as soon as possible.” **The French charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient statement:** “L’Oeuvre d’Orient condemns in the strongest possible terms these acts of war, which aim to destabilize all of Lebanon and kill innocent civilians. The death of a priest who refused to leave his parish is yet another escalation of senseless violence. L’Oeuvre d’Orient also denounces the risk of annexation and the disappearance of villages south of the Litani River, particularly historic Christian villages,” **David Azulay head of Metula settlement** Israeli Activist B.M. reports: *"The audacity: Four days after talking on Israeli radio about the need to "destroy and wipe out" South Lebanon, the head of Metula settlement, David Azulay, issues a statement of condolences, in Hebrew and Arabic, for Pierre al-Rahi, the Lebanese priest who was murdered by Israel on Monday. The village of Al-Qlayaa, where al-Rahi was murdered, is located 5 kilometers from Metula. Some Lebanese Christians originally from Al-Qlayaa, who used to be part of Israel's pre-2000 collaborator militia, the South Lebanon Army, now reside in Metula."* **Statement of Fr. Toufic Bou Merhi, Latin-rite parish priest in Tyre and Deirmimas:** Speaking to Vatican News, he said the 50-year-old Fr. El-Rahi was a true pastor for the Christians of his parish. Despite many Israeli evacuation orders for the area, Fr. El-Rahi remained to serve his parishioners. While the parish is mourning the death of Fr. El-Rahi and are now very afraid, even as the house of another priest was directly attacked: *“Up to now, people haven't wanted to leave their homes in Christian villages, but in this situation, everything has changed. Leaving home means living on the streets or trying to rent another place, but people can't afford it, especially given the country's already dire economic situation."* Other [source](https://www.lebanondebate.com/article/801170-القليعة-تنزف-استشهاد-كاهن-البلدة-بالقصف-الإسرائيلي)