Lebanon reports 60 killed in Israeli airstrikes in East Valley

Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley have killed at least 60 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Two children were among those killed and the strikes hit 16 areas of the Baalbek region.

The ministry said another 58 people were injured, adding that rescue efforts were continuing in the valley, a known Hezbollah stronghold. The Israeli military has not yet commented.

Israel has carried out thousands of airstrikes in Lebanon in recent weeks, targeting what it says are Hezbollah fighters, infrastructure and weapons.

Baalbek Governor Bachi Khodr called the attacks “the most brutal” in the area since the conflict with Hezbollah escalated last month.

Unverified videos circulating on social media showed extensive damage to buildings and raging fires as rescuers searched for victims.

The video shows residents in Budai calling for heavy equipment to help rescue people believed to be trapped.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli airstrikes on the coastal city of Tire killed seven people and wounded 17, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel warned residents to leave the city center.

Hezbollah reported clashes with Israeli forces near Lebanon’s southern border on Monday and said it fired rockets at a naval base in Israel near Haifa.

Cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after the armed group began firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023, following a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel the previous day.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health says more than 2,700 people have been killed and more than 12,400 injured in Lebanon since the conflict escalated.

On September 30, Israel launched a military operation in southern Lebanon aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure through “limited, localized and targeted raids.”

According to the Lebanese government, about 1.3 million people have been internally displaced by the ongoing conflict.

Farida Abdulkadiri

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