Israel targets north-eastern Lebanon and Beirut, while bombardment of Gaza raises fears of worsening humanitarian conditions for civilians
Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 52 people and wounded scores more, the Lebanese health ministry said, while rockets fired from Lebanon fell on Israel on Saturday.
Israeli police said 19 people were injured before dawn on Saturday in the central town of Tira. Three projectiles crossed into Israel from Lebanon, Israel’s military said, and some were intercepted.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two of those injured were in moderate condition from the attack, and the others had lesser injuries. A photo the service released showed damage to what appeared to be an apartment building.
In Lebanon’s north-eastern Bekaa valley, rescuers searched for survivors after airstrikes killed nine people and brought down a building that had housed 20 people in the town of Younine. Further Israeli strikes killed 12 people in the town of Amhaz and 31 others across at least a dozen villages, bringing the total death toll to 52, the health ministry said. The bombardment left 72 people wounded, the ministry added. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the strikes.
The latest violence comes against the backdrop of a renewed diplomatic push by Joe Biden’s administration, days before the US presidential election, to reach temporary ceasefire deals.
In central Gaza, Palestinians recovered the bodies of 25 people killed in a barrage of Israeli aerial attacks that began on Thursday, hospital officials said.
Israel has stepped up its offensive against remaining Hamas fighters in Gaza, bombarding areas in the north and raising fears of worsening humanitarian conditions for civilians still there.
