Lebanese rescuers have recovered three bodies from the rubble of a building struck by Israel in a September airstrike that claimed the life of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, state media reported Friday.
The Health Ministry has not released the death toll from the strike, which razed several buildings in Haret Hreik, a south Beirut stronghold of the Iran-backed group.
Rescuers arrived on the scene Friday morning to search for seven missing people, the National News Agency said, adding that they had “recovered the bodies of three martyrs.”
The remains were taken to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital for DNA testing to confirm their identity, ANI reported.
The search continued to find other people still missing.
A truce between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27, ending a conflict that killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including Hezbollah’s top leaders.
The September 27 airstrike targeted Nasrallah in an underground bunker in the residential area.
Nasrallah was killed along with four others, including Hezbollah’s commander in southern Lebanon and a senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the group said.
He was buried in a secret location, for fear that Israeli forces would target his funeral.
Hezbollah announced plans to hold “popular” funeral ceremonies for Nasrallah after the ceasefire, but did not specify a date.
Despite the truce, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 20 people in Lebanon since November 27, according to a report. AFP count based on figures from the Ministry of Health.
Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
