An Israeli strike in a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12, as some soldiers called Lebanon
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An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, state media said on Tuesday, as an Israeli official said the army had called in Lebanese troops.
The strike hit Mashghara village in the Bekaa Valley on Monday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
It came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorized heavy strikes against the Hezbollah terrorist group across Lebanon. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike, but said on Monday it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in eastern Lebanon.
An Israeli security official said the army had called in additional troops to Lebanon. The official spoke on the condition that he not be disclosed in accordance with the laws.
Rescuers say dozens of bodies have been pulled from the rubble following a wave of strikes that hit areas in the south and east of Lebanon overnight.
The deadly attack comes three days before Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are due to meet in Washington for direct talks.
Lebanese ambulance workers say their video of a series of strikes that killed four paramedics is clear evidence against Israel’s claim that Lebanese medical teams are abusing their status to help Hezbollah. CBC’s Chris Brown talks to members of the Nabatieh Ambulance Service who say their cameras are insurance.
Hezbollah is attacking Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israeli cities, and has vowed to continue fighting until Israel halts daily airstrikes and withdraws its troops from the country.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has boasted of using new fibre-optic drones that the Israeli military has struggled to intercept, striking Israeli forces and villages along the northern border.
Israel has updated its self-defense guidelines in line with recent developments in its northern territories, telling people not to gather in large numbers.
Lebanon will hold direct talks with Israel
“What you need now is to increase the blows, increase the level. We will hit them in the hip and thigh,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media on Monday before the strikes.
The Lebanese government hopes that direct talks with Israel, opposed by Hezbollah, will lead to a ceasefire.
More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the war, which was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel on March 2 in cooperation with Iran.
3,185 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the war, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. More than 9,600 others were injured.
