Occupied Al-Quds: At least 29 people have been martyred in the latest wave of Israeli attacks across Gaza as Israel’s siege of northern Gaza continues, trapping about 400,000 Palestinians.
UN peacekeepers will stay in their positions in southern Lebanon, peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said after peacekeepers from UNIFIL were injured in Israeli attacks.
At least 21 people have been killed in an Israeli air attack on the mostly Christian village of Aitou in northern Lebanon. Eight other people were injured.
In Gaza, at least 42,289 people have been killed and 98,684 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 people were taken captive.
Israel launches 200 air strikes across Lebanon in 24 hours
The Israeli military says it launched a total of 200 strikes across Lebanon in the last 24 hours as it expanded its targets against Hezbollah.
So far the main focus of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon has been in the Bekaa Valley in the east, the suburbs of Beirut, and in the south, where incidents involving Israeli troops and UN peacekeepers have created tension.
In response, Hezbollah launched counterstrikes, hitting targets in al-Marj inside Lebanon, where Israeli forces are carrying out a military operation. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, Hezbollah also intensified its use of ballistic missiles, targeting the city of Haifa with two surface-to-surface missiles, forcing thousands of residents in northern Israel to take shelter.
Earlier, Israel struck a Christian-majority northern Lebanese town of Aitou, killing at least 21 people, according to Lebanese health officials.
Israeli attacks damage buildings across Lebanon, including hospital
An overnight Israeli attack that destroyed a building in Baalbek in Lebanon also damaged the nearby Al-Murtada Hospital, putting it out of service, Lebanon’s NNA news agency reports.
Israeli warplanes also caused severe damage to property and crops in the Qasimiya area and targeted the Litani River area between Blat and Barghaz, NNA added.
