Lebanese death toll from Israeli attacks rises to 3756

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health announced on Saturday that the death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2nd has risen to 3,756.

According to the daily report issued by the ministry's Health Emergency Operations Centre, the number of wounded individuals during the same period has increased to 11,632.

According to another report, Lebanon reported Israeli strikes in the country's south on Saturday, as the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for the city of Nabatieh and more than 20 other locations ahead of raids.

The latest strikes came as the US and Iran indicated they were close to reaching a deal on ending the Middle East war that could also include Lebanon, drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its patron Tehran.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli airstrikes had hit several areas, particularly around the southern city of Nabatieh.

An AFP photojournalist in the Nabatieh area heard blasts around Kfar Remman, which has been repeatedly targeted, and saw a plume of smoke rising from Kfar Tebnit, which was not included in the evacuation warnings.

The Lebanese army later said one of its soldiers had been severely wounded after being hit by an Israeli drone on the road between Kfar Remman and Nabatieh. That had followed an initial attempt to target him as he was moving near a hospital close to the city.

NNA also said an Israeli strike killed a local official in Rihan, the southern region of Jezzine.

An AFP correspondent in Nabatieh said the city was almost deserted, reporting artillery shelling there and in nearby areas overnight and on Saturday.

Agencies