On the morning of Monday, March 02, 2026, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the town of Sultaniyah in southern Lebanon, killing up to four civilians, including a woman and two children. Two children, Ruqayya Ali Qarout and Haydar Ali Qarout, were killed and their, mother, Aya Ali Hijazi, was injured in the incident. A young man named Ali Hassan Qousan was also killed. The name of the woman reportedly killed remains unknown but will be updated should additional information become available.

Sources Al-Qastal News, South Lebanon, and Our martyrs are heroes reported on the incident, writing that four people were killed, “including a woman and two children.”

Following news of the incident, friends and family took to social media to mourn the loss of the brother and sister duo. Some mourners shared photographs of the two on what appears to be Ruqayya’s sixth birthday party as she is seen holding a silver number six balloon. In the photographs, the sibling bond between the two is clear as they were often seen together holding hands. This was noted in a poignant Facebook post by the Ya Sour website. In the writeup it was noted “The two children […] departed together… holding hands, just as they did in life, to continue their journey together on an eternal path to Paradise.”

Other mourners shared religious tributes, praying for the souls of the deceased and offering condolences to their families. The sources also reported that the siblings and their mother were displaced from the town of Mays al-Jabal.

Ya Sour website and other sources mourned the death of Ali Hassan Qousan, a man who was also presumably killed in this raid. On March 5,  @Aytaroun wrote on Facebook: “Aitaroun mourns its son, the martyr Ali Hassan Qousan, who was killed in the Sultaniyeh raid a few days ago. He will be laid to rest in the Wardaniyeh cemetery at a time to be determined later.” The post was accompanied by an image of a young man outdoors, standing in front of lush green foliage. He’s smiling warmly at the camera, has short dark hair, neatly styled, and a well-groomed beard and mustache. He’s wearing a clean white button-up shirt.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.