Israeli Strikes Kill Journalists, UNIFIL Peacekeepers in Lebanon; Netanyahu Orders Security Zone Expansion

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on March 30 killed three journalists in a marked press vehicle and killed two UNIFIL (UN peacekeeping) personnel in two separate incidents — one at a UN position near Adchit al-Qusayr and another in Bani Hayyan — and wounded a third UNIFIL peacekeeper critically. Israeli strikes also targeted a school and four ambulances in Hanaway village in the Tyre district. One Lebanese soldier was killed and five wounded at an army checkpoint. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed nine people killed in Lebanon in the preceding 24 hours. Four IDF soldiers were killed in ground operations in southern Lebanon, with funerals held March 31. PM Netanyahu ordered further expansion of Israel's 'security zone' in southern Lebanon; Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to demolish all houses in Lebanese border villages 'like in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.' Cumulative casualties in Lebanon since the March 2 Israeli incursion reached 1,247 dead and 3,680 wounded; 200,000+ people displaced.