Tragedy in Bint Jbeil: A family's final drive ends in bloodshed after Israeli drone strike

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

What began as an ordinary Sunday family visit ended in tragedy when an Israeli drone strike killed five people, including twin toddlers, on a rural road in South Lebanon.

On September 21, 2025, the Sharara family was returning from a gathering at their grandparents' home in Bint Jbeil. Their car had just stopped along the Marjayoun–Bint Jbeil highway so father Shadi Sharara could greet his cousin, Mohammad Marwa, who was riding a motorcycle. Before they could exchange words, an Israeli drone fired two missiles, striking the family vehicle directly.

The attack killed Chadi, his young daughter Celine, his twin toddlers Silane and Hadi, and his cousin Mohammad Marwa. The children's mother, wounded and in shock, survived the blast along with the couple's fourth child, Assil, who was critically injured but clung to life.

The Israeli army later issued a statement expressing "regret" for civilian casualties, claiming the strike targeted a Hezbollah operative and pledging an investigation. Israeli officials said they "work to avoid harming civilians," but Lebanese officials and residents dismissed the explanation as an excuse for what they called a deliberate assault on innocents.

Local authorities described the attack as one of the deadliest strikes on civilians in Bint Jbeil in recent years, calling it a war crime. 

Rumors about the Sharara family possessing U.S. citizenship have spread as the ordeal has reignited anger across Lebanon, with the information changing nothing about their death.

What remains are the haunting images of children who were laughing and playing hours before their lives were cut short—now names on a growing list of martyrs of the conflict.