On May 22, 2026, at least five civilians, including at least three paramedics, were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Deir Qanoun Al Naher, southern Lebanon. The “double tap” attack followed a previous strike (ISLB220526aa) that killed a Syrian child and her father, and injured a Syrian woman and another girl. The Syrian woman who was harmed in the initial strike was reportedly killed in this second strike. Paramedics Ahmed Yahya Hariri (who also worked as a photojournalist), Ali Hussein Ghassani and Dr. Hussein Radwan Qasir, and a local man named Ali Alami who worked as a barber were killed as well. Paramedics Ali Fayez Wasakhan and Haider Hussein Safi Al-Din were injured. A third paramedic named Yazan Nawras Saeed was killed, but Airwars has graded him as a militant and therefore excluded him from the civilian casualty count for this incident.

At 4:57 p.m. on May 22, the Facebook account that used to belong to journalist Hussam Shabat reported (via Facebook) that “a series of massacres were perpetrated by the Israeli occupation in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon, beginning with the targeting of a Syrian family, resulting in the martyrdom of the father and his daughter. Following this, paramedics from the Islamic Scout Association, including Ahmed, went to the scene to rescue the wounded and provide first aid. However, the enemy returned and directly targeted them while they were carrying out their humanitarian duty, leading to the martyrdom of two Lebanese paramedics and a civilian.”

The post from Shabat included a video that was shared by a number of other sources showing multiple casualties on the ground, with at least four people gathered around, attempting to provide aid. The video is narrated by a woman who states that there are injured people on the ground and others are attending to them; among the wounded is a young girl. She also mentions that her own daughter was struck in the hand by shrapnel but is otherwise fine. One of the responders is dressed in a yellow, high-visibility vest, as often worn by emergency personnel; he frantically waves up the road towards oncoming traffic before an ambulance drives into the frame and slows down at the scene. Just then, the video captures a projectile striking the vehicle directly; the woman exclaims that the ambulance has been hit and that people have been killed. A person can be seen kneeling next to the casualties from the initial incident before collapsing to the ground.

Sources including Facebook accounts ‘Wadi Press’ and ‘The Abbasid Message’ also shared a video recorded on a helmet camera belonging to one of the paramedics responding to the scene. The clip captures the moment of the strike from inside the ambulance. It is unclear from the footage if the medic wearing the camera was harmed.

On the day of the strike, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health released a statement announcing that “in a raid on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in Tyre district, six people were killed, including two paramedics from the Al-Risala Association, one of whom was also a media professional, and a Syrian girl, in addition to six wounded, including three paramedics from Al-Risala and a Syrian woman.” Al-Risala Association for Health Aid is a civil defense group affiliated with the Association of Scouts of the Islamic Message, and thus the AMAL movement, that primarily operates in southern Lebanon, Beqaa Valley and Shia suburbs of Beirut. This figure seems to include casualties from both strikes, some of which are covered separately in Airwars’ assessment of incident ISLB220526aa.

According to Facebook user @Mhamad Mahmoud Tabikh, “following the enemy airstrikes targeting the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, the Al-Risala Ambulance Team from Al-Abbasiya moved to the targeted site. Upon arrival, the teams working to evacuate the wounded were targeted by a second attack, resulting in injuries to two paramedics from the Martyr Muhammad Fawaz Volunteer Center in Al-Abbasiya and the martyrdom of two other paramedics from the Deir Qanoun al-Nahr Volunteer Center.” The source also shared a photo of a damaged ambulance bearing the Al-Risala Association for Health Aid logo. @Hanine Mh offered similar details about the two ambulance teams via Facebook, noting that “while an ambulance team from the Al-Risala Ambulance Association was en route to assist their colleagues from the Martyr Muhammad Fawaz Volunteer Center in Al-Abbasiya, their ambulance, number 501, was damaged and rendered inoperable.”

Arab TV reported via Facebook that “a direct Israeli airstrike on the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon resulted in the deaths of seven people, including three paramedics.”

Numerous sources honoured the deceased.

On Facebook, an called ‘The Abbasid Message’ announced that “the leaders and members of the Martyr Mohammed Fawaz Volunteer Center in Abbasiya wish a speedy recovery to the injured paramedics Ali Fayez Wasakhan and Sayed Haider Hussein Safi Al-Din, who were targeted in an attack while en route to support and transport the wounded and martyrs from the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, where three paramedics from the Deir Qanoun al-Nahr Volunteer Center were martyred.” It named paramedics Ahmed Yahya Hariri, Ali Hussein Ghassani and Hussein Radwan Qasir as “martyrs” of the attack.

The Islamic Message Scouts – Deir Qanoun El Nahr Troop honored the “martyr paramedic[s]” Ahmed, Ali and Hussein as well, and shared photos from a memorial ceremony honoring the men. Many of the mourners appeared to be wearing yellow emergency response vests and/or symbols of the Al-Risala Association for Health Aid, Association of Scouts of the Islamic Message, and AMAL movement. A large poster of the three men displayed in front of the stage showed Ahmad and Hussein dressed in yellow vests and Ali wearing a t-shirt with a background featuring flags of the Association of Scouts of the Islamic Message, an AMAL-affiliated scouting organisation. AMAL is a political party that used to operate a militia and is now allied with Hezbollah. Airwars does not consider membership in the Association of Scouts of the Islamic Message or AMAL to be an indication of militant activity.

Facebook user Marwa Hussein Saab also shared photos from the “funeral procession for the martyrs of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, Civil Defense paramedics from the Islamic Scout Association, who were directly targeted by Israel: paramedic and photographer Ahmad Hariri, paramedic Hussein Qasir, and paramedic Ali Ghassani.” One of the photos shows mourners praying around three coffins draped with the green AMAL movement flag and decorated with flower garlands and rose petals.

Kassir Samer honored his loved ones in a Facebook post, starting with Ahmed Hariri who, “with his camera, documented the pain, not in search of a photograph, but to tell the world that there are people here who suffer and deserve to live. At the same time, he carried his bag and ran to aid the wounded, as if trying to snatch them from death and give them another chance at life.” According to Kassir, “Ahmad wasn’t afraid to speak the truth, even when it brought him trouble. He spoke the truth with a steadfast heart, because silence in the face of pain was never in his nature.” Yajnoub 2 website honored Ahmed as a “dedicated paramedic and creative photographer” and shared photos of the young man working in both capacities. According to Facebook account @Risala Harouf, Ahmad had been working as a photojournalist as recently as the previous week. @bintjbeil.org posted a selfie photo of Ahmed in a blue bulletproof vest labeled “PRESS” standing in front of an expanse of rubble and honored him as “the fellow paramedic in the Al-Risala ambulance service… the journalist and friend who consistently covered Bint Jbeil… the strong and persevering man who never abandoned the South…Ahmed Hariri, a martyr.” Facebook account ‘Voice of Abbasiya’ noted that Ahmed was the father of a young daughter.

@bintjbeil.org also shared “a photo showing the two heroic paramedics, Ahmed Hariri and Ali Ghassani, who were martyred while performing their humanitarian duty in Deir Qanoun El Nahr,” featuring the two men in yellow high-visibility vests and helmet covers featuring the logo of the Al-Risala Association for Health Aid. On Facebook, the Islamic Message Scouts – Deir Qanoun El Nahr Troop shared the same photo in honor of the “two heroes from the Islamic Scout Association – Martyr Youssef Hariri Troop – [who] were martyred defending Lebanon and the South.” According to Kassir Samer, “Ali Ghassani ran towards danger while everyone else fled from it, venturing through the rubble and smoke to rescue lives with weary hands and a heart that knew no fear. The man with the heart of steel, who never hesitated to answer a call for help, as if his life were dedicated to giving others a chance to survive.”

@bintjbeil.org also reported that “Deir Qanoun al-Nahr mourns the martyrs Paramedic Hussein Qassir and Ali Alami, who were killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted the town this morning.” It shared a picture of the two men, with Hussein dressed in a yellow high-visibility vest featuring the logo of the Al-Risala Association for Health Aid and with Ali wearing a dark blue t-shirt. Facebook user Elias Atwi referred to “Dr. Hussein Qassir” as “Head of Services in the Deir Qanoun al-Nahr Branch” and shared what appears to be a “selfie” photo of Hussein taken at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy. According to Kassir Samer, “Hussein Qasir, my cousin, as I call him and he calls me, didn’t leave seeking his own survival, but rather trying to give life to others. He ran towards the wounded with a heart full of compassion, unafraid of fire or death. He left carrying humanity and the service of his town on his shoulders until his very last moment.”

Kassir also honored Ali Alami as “that young man known for his smile and his scissors, cutting people’s hair for free amidst the war, as if trying to restore a small measure of dignity and joy to faces worn down by fear and sorrow. He called me yesterday to joke, saying, “Don’t get your hair cut outside. It’s only a couple of days, and you’ll come back and get it cut only at my place.”” The Akhbar Saida blog also noted Ali’s dedication to his community in the midst of war, writing that “Ali Alami, a barber from the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, remained steadfast in his village, offering free haircuts to those who stayed behind. He had done so previously during the July War of 2006 and the earlier war on Lebanon.” According to Ya Sour Website, Ali “was more than just a barber. He was a beacon of kindness during the war, carrying his tools and his heart, traveling between villages and hospitals, offering people comfort in the simplest way possible, believing that serving others was an act of worship and standing by them was an unavoidable duty.He was always the first to greet people with his smile, his genuine love, and his spirit.” The source also shared a touching photo of Ali cradling a young child.

On Twitter/X, @mahdyalhazeem honored “the martyr Ali, my cousin and childhood friend whose childhood was filled with play, mischief, and playful antics.” In his post, Mahdy described how “our differences and disagreements would fill the air with laughter and playful banter, but we loved each other. You would often quote Che Guevara, the revolutionary I admired: “Wherever injustice exists, that is my homeland.”” He also shared an interview from 10 days before Ali’s death, in which “Ali was giving a human lesson about life under the shadow of war and the [Israeli] killing machine.” The video showed Ali working in his barbershop while speaking about the ongoing conflict. According to Facebook user Hussein Hariri, “he possessed a beautiful spirit that he didn’t impose on you, but which seeped into your heart quietly. And he stood for what was right in his own way; Generosity was his daily practice, devoid of pretense or expectation of reward.” The source also shared two photos of Ali, with one showing him escaping from a cloud of debris while carrying a wounded person in his arms.

A Facebook account titled ‘Action Group for Palestinians of Syria’ reported that “Palestinian-Syrian paramedic Yazan Nours Saeed, a resident of the Al-Husayniyah refugee camp in rural Damascus, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted ambulance crews in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon while he was carrying out his humanitarian work.” The account also shared a smiling photo of the young man.

According to a May 24 article on the Palestinian Refugees Portal, “Yazan Nours Saeed, originally from the al-Husayniyah camp in Syria, was killed two days prior in an Israeli airstrike that targeted ambulance crews in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr.” The article explained that “Yazan came from a Palestinian-Syrian family who were forced to flee Syria for Lebanon. They settled in Burj al-Shamali camp, where they endured years of displacement and refuge before his life was tragically cut short during the current war in Lebanon.” He was reportedly known “for his good character and kind nature.” Facebook user Youssef Kourishi posted an image of Yazan wearing a red emergency response uniform and announced that the “Dr. Youssef Kourishi and the Kourishi family mourn the loss of the martyr, the hero of duty and humanity, paramedic Yazan Nours Saeed, who was martyred while performing his sacred humanitarian duty of rescuing and treating the wounded, following a treacherous Israeli raid in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, southern Lebanon.” Youssef described Yazan as “a man of great dedication and generosity who never hesitated to serve his people and their just cause” and said “his hand was there to soothe the wounds of others, and he rose as a hero who did not hesitate, a medic who did not retreat, an example of high morals and a fearless humanitarian spirit.” Numerous other sources described Yazan as being killed while on duty as a medic.

In a video interview with Mifta Media on May 25, Yazan’s grandfather recounted that in the lead-up to the deadly strike, Yazan had seen injured people while he was returning from work; when he attempted to aid them, a drone strike killed him.” The elderly man also explained that the family was unable to repatriate Yazan’s body to Syria due to the high cost.

Lebanon Camps Post reported that “the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon (Hezbollah) mourned the martyr, the Mujahid Yazan Nours Saeed “Abu Ali”, who was martyred in the “Eaten Straw” battle, calling for participation in his funeral scheduled for Sunday in the Burj al-Shamali camp in southern Lebanon.” The announcement was accompanied by an image featuring the Hezbollah logo and a photo of Yazan dressed in a camouflage military uniform. Footage of Yazan’s funeral procession shared on Facebook by the ‘Palestine Unites Us’ account on May 24 showed a large crowd of mourners carrying his coffin, which was draped with the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah. As such, Yazan has been graded as a militant and his death has been excluded from the civilian casualty count for this incident.

On the day of the attack, the IDF released a statement via its official Telegram channel acknowledging that it had killed multiple people in southern Lebanon; however, the statement did not specify the location of the strikes or the identities of those harmed. It read as follows: “A short while ago, IDF surveillance identified two armed individuals moving in a suspicious manner hundreds of meters from Israeli territory, in southern Lebanon. Following their identification and continuous monitoring by the IDF, the armed individuals were struck and eliminated in an aerial strike. IDF soldiers operating in the area subsequently began searches to ensure no additional hostile presence remained in the area. No suspicious findings were identified. The incident has concluded.”

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