A Lebanese school principal was killed in an Israeli drone strike Sunday evening, as a wave of attacks across southern Lebanon targeted civilian areas, infrastructure, and, in a separate incident, United Nations peacekeepers.

The strike hit a civilian vehicle in the town of Mansouri in the Tyre district, killing Mohammad Shuweikh, the principal of Mansouri Public School, according to local sources and official statements.

The incident is part of a significant escalation in cross-border hostilities that has seen near-daily Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks, drawing repeated condemnation from Lebanese authorities and UN forces for violating the UN-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2006 war.

Lebanon’s Minister of Education, Rima Karami, confirmed Shuweikh's death and condemned the killing. In a statement, she offered her condolences to his family and called for "immediate international action to protect schools, educators, and students" from ongoing Israeli military operations.

The killing of a civilian educator underscores the growing risks to Lebanon's civilian population as the conflict intensifies. Shortly after the Mansouri strike, further incidents were reported nearby. In the village of al-Dhayrah, an Israeli FPV drone allegedly dropped a sound bomb on a group of civilians, causing no casualties. In the border town of Odaisseh, a water well was targeted with a smoke bomb.

In one of the most diplomatically charged incidents of the day, an Israeli Merkava tank opened fire on a patrol of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeepers inside Lebanese territory.

UNIFIL confirmed the attack in a statement, reporting that heavy machine-gun rounds struck within five meters of its soldiers, who were forced to take cover. No peacekeepers were injured.

The force described the incident as a “serious violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the 2006 agreement that ended the Lebanon-Israel war and delineates the terms of the cessation of hostilities. The resolution mandates that UNIFIL operate freely in southern Lebanon and prohibits attacks on its personnel.

The events on Sunday cap a week of intensified Israeli military operations across southern and eastern Lebanon.

A consistent pattern of airstrikes and drone attacks has been documented over the past week, revealing a sharp escalation in hostilities. On November 13, an Israeli drone struck a vehicle in Toul, injuring one person, while warplanes bombed the outskirts of Tayr Felsay. This was preceded by Israeli raids on November 10 that targeted the Shaara Heights and Janta in the Bekaa region, a drone strike on a road in Hermel, and a separate attack near al-Baysariyeh that killed one person.

The violence earlier in the week included the deaths of two Lebanese citizens in separate drone strikes on November 9, while on November 8, three people were killed and eleven injured in multiple strikes across the south. UNIFIL itself reported Israeli airstrikes on several towns on November 6, labeling them "clear violations" of Resolution 1701, following a drone attack on November 5 in Bourj Rahal that killed one person and wounded another.

The recent strikes, particularly those targeting vehicles, civilian gatherings, and essential infrastructure like water wells, have raised alarms among humanitarian organizations and Lebanese officials. They warn that the tactics represent a sharp increase in violations of international humanitarian law, which protects civilians and civilian objects during conflict.

With Israeli forces continuing ground incursions and aerial operations, Lebanese officials are urgently calling on the international community to enforce Resolution 1701 and intervene to prevent a further, and potentially wider, deterioration of the security situation along the Lebanon-Israel border. (ILKHA)