Lebanon reported 23 fatalities and numerous injuries in Israeli attacks across the country on Wednesday (September 25, 2024), marking the third day of significant Israeli bombardments as tensions with Hezbollah escalate.
Hezbollah announced that it had launched a ballistic missile that reached the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv for the first time before being intercepted.
The strikes in Lebanon targeted the villages of Joun and Maaysra — areas outside of Hezbollah’s usual strongholds in the south and east.
A resident of Maaysra named Fatima, who chose not to disclose her last name, stated that the two-story building hit in the attack belonged to her relative and housed displaced individuals from southern Lebanon.
“They bombed an area where displaced people were residing,” she expressed. “Nowhere feels safe anymore.”
Rescuers were seen at the site of the attack, searching for survivors amongst the rubble and listening for any signs of life under the debris.
The village was adorned with Hezbollah and Lebanese flags, according to reports.
Israel’s military later confirmed strikes in the Nabatiyeh region of southern Lebanon, with the state-run National News Agency noting damage to a hospital caused by an Israeli strike.
Nabatiyeh Governor Howaida Turk informed AFP that the region’s only government hospital sustained damage due to the nearby strike, although no injuries were reported.
Intensifying Conflict
The Health Ministry reported that the Israeli strike on the village of Joun in the Chouf mountains resulted in four fatalities.
Another Israeli attack in Maaysra claimed the lives of three individuals in the Shiite-majority village located in a predominantly Christian region north of Beirut.
Nine people were killed in southern Lebanon and seven in eastern Lebanon as a result of Israeli strikes, as per the ministry.
Hezbollah and Israel, longtime adversaries, have been engaged in frequent cross-border clashes since an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, which subsequently led to conflict in Gaza.
Israel’s focus has shifted from Gaza to Lebanon in recent days, culminating in devastating strikes across the country’s south and east on Monday, resulting in over 550 casualties according to the health ministry — the highest single-day death toll since Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990.
These attacks followed coordinated explosions targeting communication devices that killed 39 people and injured thousands in the previous week.
Additionally, a deadly strike in south Beirut on Friday resulted in the death of prominent Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil.
Published – September 25, 2024 10:37 pm IST
