At least 19 killed in new Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon

​​​​​​​By Stephanie Rady and Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - At least 19 people were killed and 15 injured Wednesday in two Israeli attacks against eastern Lebanon, according to officials.

Eight people were killed in an initial assessment following an airstrike on a residential home in a town in the Baalbek district of eastern Lebanon, according to the state Health Ministry.

The ministry added that “the successive Israeli airstrikes on the town of Sohmor in the Western Bekaa district resulted in an initial toll of 11 people killed and 11 others wounded,” without specifying the nature of the injuries.

Israel launched a massive air campaign last month in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation in a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.

More than 2,700 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala