An Israeli airstrike has killed three Turkish citizens who attempted to cross illegally from Lebanon to Israel, Reuters quotes Turkiye’s foreign ministry as saying.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this unlawful attack that resulted in the death of our citizens,” the ministry said in a statement, without mentioning when the incident took place.

Procedures are under way to repatriate their bodies to Turkiye, the ministry said.

“As we have emphasised on every occasion, Israel must immediately end its aggressive policies that disregard human life and escalate tensions in our region,” the ministry said.