A funeral has been held in a southern Lebanese village for an 11-year-old boy and his uncle who were killed in an Israeli air strike.
Jawad Younes and his uncle, 41-year-old Ragheb Younes, were laid to rest in Saksakiyeh on Saturday after their family compound was hit a day earlier.
They are among the latest casualties in Israel's offensive against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, after the group fired rockets into Israel earlier this month amid the war between the US and Israel against Iran.
Lebanese health officials say more than 1,100 people have been killed since the escalation began, with civilians increasingly caught in the crossfire.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the intended target of the strike that hit the Younes family compound.
Hundreds gathered in Saksakiyeh town centre for Jawad and Ragheb's funeral.
Women dressed in black robes wailed over the bodies, one of which was draped in Hezbollah's yellow flag - a reflection of the group's support in this largely Shia area.
Malak Meslmani, Jawad's mother, sat beside her son's body with tears streaming down her face.
"My son is gentle and pure," she told the BBC.
"He loved the idea of martyrdom, and when he grew up, he wanted to be with the resistance.
"He wanted to resist the enemy Israel who killed him."
As the funeral procession made its way to the grave site, the sound of Israeli air strikes echoed in the distance. Plumes of smoke rose above nearby hilltops.
The strike on the Younes family home happened shortly after 13:00 (11:00 GMT) on Friday. Jawad's father, Hussein Younes, said his son had been playing football with his nine cousins at the time.
Standing in front of the ruins of his home, Jawad's father threw his hands in the air, and shouted: "I don't know! I don't know!", when asked why the Israeli military had targeted the house.
"If this was a military base, no kids would be here," he told the BBC.
The BBC spoke to multiple members of the family and local council members who all said the family had no involvement with Hezbollah militarily.
Five people survived the attack, and those wounded were taken to a nearby hospital. Among them was Jawad's aunt, Zeinab.
"Before it happened, me and my husband were inside," she said, speaking through tears from her hospital bed.
"We didn't see anything, and we didn't hear anything... Then I found myself under a pile of rubble."
Zeinab is being treated for a broken spine and a fractured leg. Doctors say they are hopeful she will walk again, but she is likely to require extensive surgery.
She said there had been no warning ahead of the strike, and that the family would have fled had they been alerted.
Jaward and Ragheb's burial comes just a day after another family in the same neighbourhood buried two children and their mother. They were also killed in Israeli bombardment amid another wave of deadly strikes across southern Lebanon.
On Saturday, three Lebanese journalists were killed in what authorities described as a targeted Israeli strike on their media vehicle, including Ali Shoeib, a well-known correspondent for Al Manar TV, a station affiliated with Hezbollah.
The Israeli army described him as a Hezbollah member who had been exposing Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon, without providing evidence to support the claims.
Lebanon's President, Joseph Aoun, condemned the attack as a "blatant crime" that violated all norms under which journalists should be protected during war.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has previously accused Israel of repeatedly killing media professionals while alleging they were militants without providing credible evidence.
Also on Saturday, an Israeli air strike killed five paramedics in the town of Zoutar. Human rights groups say Israel's repeated attacks on healthcare workers in Lebanon could amount to war crimes.
Since 2 March, Israeli air strikes have battered towns and villages across Lebanon, while ground forces continue to advance in the south as part of an ongoing offensive. Israel says its operations are aimed at Hezbollah targets, but civilians are frequently among those killed.
On Friday, the UN's refugee agency warned that Lebanon was facing a worsening humanitarian crisis that could become catastrophic, with more than one million people now displaced.
Lebanon remains trapped in a cycle of violence, with Israel and Hezbollah both vowing to continue the fight despite the mounting human cost.
Many, like the surviving members of the Younes family, say they are willing to pay the price.
"We are not afraid of the war, because we are not afraid of death," Zainab's son Ali said.
Facts Only
An 11-year-old boy, Jawad Younes, and his 41-year-old uncle, Ragheb Younes, were killed in an Israeli air strike on their family compound in Saksakiyeh, southern Lebanon.
The strike occurred on Friday, shortly after 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
A funeral was held for them in Saksakiyeh on Saturday.
The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on the strike's intended target.
Family members and local council officials stated the Younes family had no military involvement with Hezbollah.
Five people survived the attack, including Jawad's aunt Zeinab, who suffered a broken spine and fractured leg.
On the same day, three Lebanese journalists were killed in a strike on their media vehicle, including Ali Shoeib of Al Manar TV.
The Israeli army described Shoeib as a Hezbollah member without providing evidence.
Five paramedics were killed in an Israeli air strike in Zoutar on Saturday.
Lebanese health officials report over 1,100 deaths since the escalation began.
The UN refugee agency warned that over one million people are now displaced in Lebanon.
Israel states its operations target Hezbollah, though civilians are frequently among the casualties.
Executive Summary
A funeral was held in the southern Lebanese village of Saksakiyeh for 11-year-old Jawad Younes and his uncle Ragheb Younes, both killed in an Israeli air strike on their family compound. The strike occurred amid escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah, with Lebanese health officials reporting over 1,100 deaths since the conflict intensified. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike's intended target, while family members and local officials denied any Hezbollah involvement at the site. The same day, three Lebanese journalists were killed in a separate strike, and five paramedics died in another attack, raising concerns about potential war crimes. The UN has warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with over one million displaced. Both Israel and Hezbollah have vowed to continue fighting despite mounting civilian casualties.
The conflict stems from Hezbollah's rocket attacks into Israel, part of broader regional tensions involving Iran. Civilians, including children, are increasingly caught in the crossfire, with families like the Youneses expressing defiance and willingness to endure the war's toll. The Israeli military maintains its operations target Hezbollah, though civilian infrastructure and personnel have repeatedly been hit. International observers, including human rights groups, have criticized the attacks on journalists and medical workers, while Lebanon's president condemned the killings as violations of wartime protections.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative highlights the human cost of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, emphasizing civilian suffering, particularly children, and the broader humanitarian crisis unfolding in Lebanon. The reporting provides direct accounts from grieving families, medical personnel, and officials, lending emotional weight to the facts. It also includes Israeli justifications for strikes, though without independent verification, and critiques from human rights groups, creating a layered perspective.
Patterns detected: ARC-0024 Ambiguity (lack of clarity on Israeli military's targeting criteria), ARC-0043 Motte-and-Bailey (Israel's broad claims of targeting Hezbollah while civilians are hit), ARC-0012 Emotional Exploitation (focus on child casualties to provoke outrage).
The paradigm driving this narrative is the framing of war through civilian victimhood, a common tactic in asymmetric conflicts where one side seeks to leverage moral authority. The unstated assumption is that civilian casualties are either intentional or negligent, depending on the audience's perspective. Historically, this echoes patterns seen in other conflicts where media coverage amplifies civilian suffering to shape international opinion, often without sufficient scrutiny of military strategies or the broader geopolitical context.
For human agency and dignity, the implications are stark: families like the Youneses are trapped in a cycle of violence with no clear path to safety. The second-order consequences include normalized attacks on journalists and medical workers, eroding protections for non-combatants. The beneficiaries of this narrative are likely those seeking to rally support against Israel or Hezbollah, depending on the audience, while the costs are borne by civilians on both sides.
Bridge questions: How might the Israeli military's targeting processes be independently verified? What alternative explanations exist for the high civilian toll beyond intentional targeting? What would a proportional response to Hezbollah's rocket attacks look like, and how could it minimize civilian harm?
Counterstrike scan: A coordinated influence campaign would likely amplify civilian casualties while omitting Hezbollah's military actions or Israel's strategic justifications. This article includes both, though with a heavier focus on civilian suffering. The content does not fully match a hypothetical attack pattern, as it acknowledges multiple perspectives, but the emotional framing could be exploited by actors seeking to escalate outrage.