The White House confirms the death of an American in Lebanon as Israel launches a ground invasion

WASHINGTON

The White House confirmed the death of an American in Lebanon on Wednesday, calling it a “tragedy” amid Israel's invasion of the small Mediterranean nation.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our condolences go out to his family and friends. His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon,” a National Security Council spokesman told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

The White House did not give a cause of death, but his daughter Nadine Jawad said her father was killed in an Israeli airstrike while “trying to save innocent lives in his hometown of Nabatieh, Lebanon.”

“We are honored by my father’s sacrifice. In his final days, he chose to stay near the main hospital in Nabatea to help the elderly, the disabled, the injured and those who simply could not afford to leave the hospital,” she wrote in a statement Posted on Instagram.

“He served as their guardian, providing them with food, mattresses and other amenities, and anonymously paying their debts. I often asked him if he was afraid, and he repeatedly told me that we shouldn't be afraid because he does what he loves most: helping others live in the country he loved most ” she added.

Nabatieh is a small inland town in eastern Lebanon.

The younger Jawad said her father was a U.S. citizen but that “should not make his story more important than others,” adding that his life was “one of over 50,000 lives lost to Israeli aggression in the Middle East.”

Kamel Ahmad Jawad lived in Dearborn, Michigan, and his funeral is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT) at the Islamic Center of America in suburban Detroit.

News of Jawad's death comes as Israel begins its ground invasion of Lebanon after carrying out a wave of escalating airstrikes across Lebanon since September 23, killing over 1,000 people and wounding over 2,950 others.

Israel says the attacks were aimed at Hezbollah targets, but official Lebanese figures show about a quarter of the dead were women and children.

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed on Wednesday in clashes with Hezbollah militants in a series of attacks on Lebanese territory near the Israeli border.

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