An American citizen has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Lebanon while visiting the country to look after his elderly mother.

Kamel Ahmad Jawad from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed on Tuesday in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, his family said, adding that he chose to remain near a hospital to try to “save innocent lives”.

He spent his last days helping the elderly, disabled, injured and poor with food, mattresses and other comforts, the family added.

”We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our hearts go out to his family and friends. His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon,” a White House spokesman said.

Jawad was in Lebanon taking care of his elderly mother, according to the Detroit News. His friend Hamzah Raza and local Dearborn groups on social media said he was killed in an Israeli air strike and called him “one of the kindest and most generous humans.”

The office of Rashida Tlaib, the Palestinian-American congresswoman representing Jawad’s constituency, said on Wednesday that it was in touch with his family.
 
Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry.