Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon’s east and south killed 52 people on Thursday, marking one of the deadliest days in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. The strikes targeted multiple locations, including the Baalbek district in the Bekaa Valley, where 40 people were killed and 52 wounded, according to the ministry.
The National News Agency (NNA) reported civilian casualties, including a couple and their four children in Maqneh and another family in nearby Nabha. In southern Lebanon, seven were killed in Nabatiyeh district, while five others died in separate strikes.
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The violence follows more than a year of escalating hostilities that turned into all-out war in September, with Israel’s military targeting Hezbollah strongholds and deploying ground troops into southern Lebanon.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation orders for parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the southern coastal city of Tyre. He also noted on social media platform X that strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs hit a weapons depot, a command center, and Hezbollah infrastructure.
Amid the violence, Hezbollah claimed its deepest attack into Israel in over a year, targeting the Hatzor air base near Ashdod, some 150 kilometers from Lebanon’s border. The Iran-backed group also launched multiple attacks on Israeli troops near Khiam, where fierce ground fighting continues.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported at least 3,583 fatalities since the conflict escalated in October 2023, with most deaths occurring after September.