3 children and his father, a car trafficker, killed in Israeli strike while driving home in Lebanon

Four members of a Lebanese family with American ties, including three children and their father, were killed in an Israeli strike in the south of Lebanon during the weekend that left a total of five dead people, according to relatives.

Shadi Charara, a car seller, was killed while driving home in the coastal city of southern Tira on Sunday with his wife and four children after lunch at his father -in -law’s house in the city of Bint Jbeil, a few miles from the border with Israel.

The Israeli army has acknowledged to carry out the strike, saying in a statement that had been attacking a Hezbollah militant, whom he did not appoint, and that “operated from a civilian population.”

Sam Bazzi, the maternal grandfather for children, told News that the family thought they were safe because they had no affiliation with Hezbollah.

In his statement, the Israeli army acknowledged that civilians had been killed in the strike and said he was reviewing the incident.

“We are regular citizens and we do not belong to any group,” Bazzi said. “And then we thought we had nothing to do with that and we were only living normally, going and coming.”

The family was just a few hundred meters from Bazzi’s house when a motorcycle passed, and at the same time, the Israeli drone hit. In addition to Charara, the strike claimed the life of his 18 -month -old son and daughter Hadi and Silan, his 8 -year -old daughter Celine, and the motorcyclist, a local man named Mohammed Majed Mroue.

The mother of the children, Amina Bazzi, and her eldest daughter, asil, survived but were seriously injured. Bazzi, his bruised and swollen face, was taken to a stretcher through the crowd at the funeral of her husband and children in Bint Jbeil.

At the funeral, the coffins were covered in Lebanese flags, and only the Lebanese flags stirred in the crowd. The distinctive yellow flag of Hezbollah usually flies in the funerals of southern Lebanon, one of the main strengths of the group, when their operations are being buried.

A negotiated in the United States cease-fire He stopped the last war of Israel-Hezbollah in November, two months after hundreds of search people almost simultaneously exploited in parts of Lebanon and Syria in a Sophisticated and remote attack. The conflict began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border, one day after a deadly incursion directed by Hamas south of Israel, he caused the war in Gaza. Israel responded with bombings and air attacks in Lebanon, and the two parties were locked in the conflict.

Since El Alto El Fuego entered into force, Israel has continued to launch almost daily air attacks in the south of Lebanon. Israeli officials frequently say that he is aimed at militants or hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbolá has only recognized to shoot through the border once from Alto El Fuego, but Israel says that the militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities.

The high fire does not cover the fights in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, another militant group backed by Iran. The high fire efforts in that conflict have stagnated.

Charara’s sister, Amina, who lives in Dearborn, Michigan, said the houses belonging to the family were damaged or destroyed in the war last year, but had been considered lucky that none of their relatives had been harmed.

“We always told God that we only lost stones and not human beings,” he said. “Houses and stones can be rebuilt, but how can my brother return?”

The president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, said after the strike that Shadi Charara and his children were American citizens. However, family members told the AP that Charara had no American citizenship, but that his brothers and his father live in the United States and are citizens. They said that Charara had requested to join them and recently received approval, but he was still waiting for visas.

A state department official declined to comment on “personal data.”

The European Union condemned the strike on Sunday and requested “the total respect and implementation of the High Fire Agreement between Lebanon and Israel.”

“Security concerns should be addressed by completely use of the monitoring mechanism established within the framework of the high fire agreement,” he said.

Amina Charara said that the family in the United States had constantly worried about her relatives in Lebanon.

“My brother was a man who loved life and loved his family. He had nothing to do with politics. He was working to keep his family,” he said. “What was the children’s fault for Israel to kill them?”

• Israel
• Lebanon