BEIRUT, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Twelve medical workers, including doctors, nurses, and rescuers, were killed early Saturday when an Israeli airstrike struck a primary healthcare center in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalaouiyeh, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

The ministry said the victims were on duty at the center when the strike hit the facility, which is part of the country's primary healthcare network. One health worker was also wounded in the attack, while search and rescue operations were continuing to look for possible missing persons.

The ministry condemned the strike, describing it as an attack on a healthcare facility affiliated with its nationwide primary healthcare system. It also denounced what it called repeated violence against medical workers, saying such actions contradict international humanitarian law.

The ministry added that the attack was the second against medical personnel within a few hours, following an earlier strike that targeted rescuers in the town of al-Sawana.

The airstrike on Burj Qalaouiyeh was part of a wave of Israeli attacks across Lebanon early Saturday that left at least 20 people dead and others wounded, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

Moreover, fierce clashes erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces along the Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil, and Aita al-Shaab axes. Hezbollah's armed wing -- the Islamic Resistance -- announced that it had launched multiple military operations, including rocket and suicide drone attacks on Israeli positions in the Ya'ara settlement, Khiam, and other locations.

This escalation follows Hezbollah's first rocket launch on March 2 since a ceasefire in November 2024, prompting Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs. ■