By Online Report 
Governor Hovaida Turk said, “This is a case of genocide. The mayor of Nabatieh and others were martyred.
Israel launched a large-scale air strike on the southern city of Nabatieh in Lebanon. A total of five people including the mayor of the city were killed in this attack.
This information was reported by Reuters citing two security sources on Wednesday.
Israel attacked the municipal building and other government offices in the city of Nabatieh by firing missiles from warplanes. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said that they are looking to see if anyone is trapped alive in the rubble.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel carried out 12 airstrikes in this southern city today.
Local authorities said Nabatieh mayor Ahmad Kahil was among the dead.
Governor Hovaida Turk said, ‘This is a case of genocide. Nabatieh mayor and others were martyred.’
Mayor Cahill was inside the municipal building at the time of the attack, Turk said. Rescue workers said many more were killed.
Israel claims
After the attack on the municipal building, the Israeli military claimed it struck ‘several Hezbollah positions’ in the Nabatieh region.
The IDF said the air force hit “military buildings, military headquarters and weapons and ammunition depots”. These installations were ‘placed near civilian buildings and used by the civilian population as human shields.’
The IDF also said it had searched for underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
In addition, Israeli forces claimed to find signs of human habitation and weapons at these locations.
‘This infrastructure existed under the homes of ordinary people in Lebanon. Its entrance is in the middle of a village. These houses were used by the Lebanese terrorists in their activities’, they said.
The IDF demanded the destruction of this road.
Israel’s campaign in Lebanon
Since September 23, Israel has increased the intensity of airstrikes against the country’s armed organization Hezbollah in Lebanon. A week later, the country also started ground operations.
The purpose of this Israeli operation is to force Hezbollah to retreat from the Lebanon-Israel border.
At least 1,350 people have lost their lives in Lebanon, according to official estimates, since the start of the operation. However, analysts fear that the death toll is much higher than this.