24 people killed in Israeli airstrikes on areas in southern, eastern Lebanon

By Naim Burjawi

BEIRUT (AA) - At least 24 people, including children, were killed and others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes on towns and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency said Monday that an Israeli airstrike on the town of Merouaniyeh, southern Lebanon, left seven people killed and others injured.

In another Israeli airstrike on the town of Kharayeb, four people were killed and four others injured, according to the Health Ministry.

It added that six other people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Babliyeh, and another person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Hatta in southern Lebanon.

Separately, the Health Ministry said six more people including a child were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the city of Baalbek in the eastern part of the country.

Following a year of skirmishes and exchange of cross-border attacks between the Israeli army and Lebanese group Hezbollah, the Israeli army as of Sept. 23 intensified and expanded its aggression across Lebanon.

According to Lebanese health authorities, nearly 2,500 people have been killed and more than 11,500 others injured in the Israeli attacks since last year.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, on Oct. 1 Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar