Beirut: Rescuers searched for survivors Friday after Israeli airstrikes killed at least 52 people and wounded 72 others across northeastern Lebanon, the country's Health Ministry reported. The wave of bombings pounded villages that had previously been spared the worst of Israel’s air campaign against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Israeli warplanes also destroyed dozens of buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, but it appeared most residents had evacuated and there were no reports of casualties. Despite growing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, intensified Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah militant group are expanding beyond Lebanon’s border areas. Israel is also fighting a seemingly endless war against Hamas in northern Gaza.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted last year, at least 2,900 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reports, not including Friday’s toll. Health authorities say that a quarter of those killed were women and children.
More than a year of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000, Palestinian health officials say, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
UN peacekeepers insist they will stay in southern Lebanon despite Israel-Hezbollah war
The U.N. peacekeeping chief says the U.N. force in southern Lebanon is determined to stay, not only because of its mandate monitoring attacks by Israel and Hezbollah but because the departure of peacekeepers would likely mean U.N. facilities would be taken over by one of the warring parties. “That would be very bad for many reasons, including the perception of impartiality and neutrality of the United Nations,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix said in a U.N. interview Friday.
At the start of Israel’s latest offensive in early October Israel asked the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL to pull back 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Lebanese border for their safety, but the U.N. refused. “UNIFIL peacekeepers are staying,” Lacroix said. “They’re holding the line and they’re determined to continue doing what they’re mandated to do.”
UNIFIL facilities, including an observation tower, have been hit and Lacroix said eight peacekeepers have been injured since the Israeli ground operation began on Oct. 1. All have since recovered. In the latest incident, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israeli forces blocked a UNIFIL patrol near the village of Hula, not far from the Israeli border.
The U.N. strongly reminds the parties of their obligations to ensure that U.N. peacekeepers have unrestricted freedom of movement in their southern area of operations, Dujarric said.
The U.N. International Organization for Migration has recorded more than 842,000 people who have fled their homes in Lebanon since October 2023, and estimates from the Syria Arab Red Crescent say 469,000 men, women and children have fled Lebanon and crossed into Syria since Sept. 23, Dujarric said.
Read More
