CORRECTS Death toll since start of Israeli onslaught on Lebanon tops 2,653

CORRECTS FIGURE IN HEADLINE

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - At least 19 people were killed and 108 others injured due to Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Friday, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The death toll from Israel's onslaught on Lebanon since Oct. 8 of last year has surged to 2,653, with 12,360 injuries, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

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

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

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

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul