Israel strikes on Lebanon kill 40 people around Baalbek

NIDAL SOLH/AFP

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed 40 people around the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, according to the country's health ministry, while more strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs at dusk.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war but fighting has escalated since late September, with Israeli troops intensifying bombing of Lebanon's south and east and making ground incursions into border villages.

Israeli strikes on Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley killed 40 people and wounded 53, the health ministry said. The Israeli military did not comment.

Israel has repeatedly battered strongholds of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.

The Israeli military ordered residents in the southern suburbs to evacuate several locations on Wednesday. Two waves of bombing followed- one late Wednesday and another early Thursday.

Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV reported at least four strikes on Thursday. There was no immediate report of casualties or details on what was hit.

Lebanese rescuers scoured a destroyed apartment building in the town of Barja, south of Beirut, for bodies or survivors after an Israeli strike on Tuesday evening killed 20 people there, Lebanon's health ministry said.

It was not clear whether the strike targeted a member of Hezbollah. There was no evacuation warning ahead of the air raid.

Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired missiles at an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion Airport. Israeli media reported a rocket had landed near the airport.

Later, the Israeli military said dozens of projectiles had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted.

Efforts to bring a diplomatic end to the conflict have stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday appointed Israel Katz as defence minister, who vowed to defeat Hezbollah so people displaced from northern Israel could return home.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Wednesday said he did not believe that political action would bring an end to hostilities.

He said there could be a road to indirect negotiations if Israel stopped its attacks.

"When the enemy decides to stop the aggression, there is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined - indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state and speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri," Qassem said.

US diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which included a 60-day ceasefire proposal, faltered last week ahead of the US election on Tuesday in which former President Donald Trump recaptured the White House.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon over the last year, the vast majority in the past six weeks.

More from International

  • Syrian rebels topple Assad, his whereabouts unknown

    Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad ousted after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee and ending his family's decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.

  • Israel shells north Gaza hospital

    Palestinian health officials said on Sunday that Israeli forces had shelled the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, damaging electricity and oxygen pumps and disrupting urgent surgeries.

  • Trump says Russia abandoned Syria's president

    US President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Russia's abandonment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to his downfall, adding Moscow never should have protected him in the first place and then lost interest because of a war in Ukraine that never should have started.

  • Russia open to Ukraine peace talks, says Kremlin

    The Kremlin said on Sunday that Russia was open to talks on Ukraine after US President-elect Donald Trump called for "an immediate ceasefire and negotiations".

  • South Korea's Yoon survives martial law impeachment move

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote in the opposition-led parliament on Saturday that was prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law this week, after members of his party boycotted the session.

Coming Up on Dubai Eye

  • Nights on Dubai Eye 103.8

    7:00pm - 11:00pm

    Dubai Eye complements the conversation with the music you love from the eighties, nineties and newer.

  • Nights on Dubai Eye 103.8

    11:00pm - 6:00am

    Dubai Eye complements the conversation with the music you love from the eighties, nineties and newer.

BUSINESS BREAKFAST LATEST

On Dubai Eye

  • Is There Sufficient House Supply In UAE

    Dubai’s current population is more than double compared to almost twenty years ago, which now stands at 3.7 million. Lots of families are also moving to the UAE now. So what does it mean for the property market?

  • Noon's First Female Delivery Driver

    Glory Ehirim Nkiruka is Noon’s first ever female delivery driver. In her first ever interview, she explained why she loves her job, despite the heat!