Two civilians, a father and daughter, were killed and others were injured when an alleged Israeli airstrike reportedly hit the town of Kafrmelki in the Sidon district of Lebanon’s South Governorate on September 23, 2024

Ibrahim Sharif Qasserm and his young daughter Fatima Sharif Qassem were reportedly killed.

Fatima was widely referred to as an “angel of Kafrmelki” in multiple sources reporting the attack. Her school, Kafr Fila Official Intermediate School, shared the news of her death on their Facebook page, writing that she was “a beautiful butterfly that the earth could not contain, so it flew high towards heaven.” The account posted multiple photos of her at school and in the classroom. She was a young girl who appeared to be around 7 years old.

Relative Mirzaneh Ahmed Class spoke of his grief at the loss of his “beloved” uncle and cousin. With her death, Mirzaneh wrote, Fatima had “broke my heart”.

Facebook user Kaleed wished Ibrahim and Fatima “could be lifted up to the sky temporarily until the war ends. Then they could return to their homes safely.” When their family would invariably ask where they had gone, Kaleed wrote, they could tell them, “We were playing with the clouds.”

A Facebook account named jaafar.sawan reported that others were injured in the alleged Israeli bombing of the village but did not specify how many. One video was widely circulated with an emblem of the Hezbollah logo in the corner including by Facebook user Ahmad Mokbel of the explosion and the scenes at the location, however there was no open source material found by Airwars researchers that suggested those injured were connected to any militant activities. While Hezbollah operates an active militant wing, their political presence is also deeply enmeshed within the state.

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