ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Lebanese health ministry reported Sunday that Israeli attacks have killed 1,238 people since March 2, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “further expand” its security zone in the country.

According to the ministry, the death toll includes 124 children, while more than 3,500 people have been injured. In just two days, Saturday and Sunday, another 49 people were killed, among them 10 rescue workers and three journalists.

In a video statement on Sunday, Netanyahu announced that he has ordered the military to "further expand the existing security zone" in Lebanon, stating that the move is "intended to definitively neutralize the threat of invasion" by Hezbollah militants and to push anti-tank missile fire further away from the border.

He also noted that although Hezbollah has been significantly weakened by Israeli forces, the group still possesses "residual capabilities" to launch rocket attacks. He asserted that "Iran is no longer the same Iran, Hezbollah is no longer the same Hezbollah, and Hamas is no longer the same Hamas."

Also on Sunday, Lebanon held funerals for three journalists killed in a Saturday Israeli strike that Beirut denounced as a “blatant crime.”

The victims included Ali Shuaib, a veteran correspondent for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, along with Al-Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni and her brother, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni. All three were killed when their vehicle was struck in Jezzine, southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military offered no evidence to support its claim that Shuaib had “operated within the Hezbollah terrorist organization under the guise of a journalist for the Al Manar network” and did not address the deaths of Ftouni and her brother, who were killed in the same strike.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire intended to end the hostilities, Israel has never ceased its strikes on Lebanon, contributing to a death toll that includes at least 11 journalists and media workers documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) since the 2023 offensive began.

The current escalation was triggered when Hezbollah launched a wave of rockets and drones into Israel, including a strike on a military site near Haifa. The Lebanese Shiite group characterized the attack as retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and previous Israeli bombardments across Lebanon.

Israel is now planning a significant expansion of its operations, aiming to seize control of the region south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. If realized, this would mark the largest Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 2006 and could potentially evolve into a long-term occupation of the country's southern territory.

At least 1,189 people have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities, according to Lebanese authorities.

In Gaza, at least 210 journalists and media workers were killed by Israeli forces during the genocide against Palestinians between October 2023 and last year’s ceasefire, according to the CPJ.