Death toll from Israeli airstrikes on eastern Lebanon rises to 11

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - The death toll from Israeli airstrikes targeting Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek and surrounding villages late Thursday has risen to 11 with 14 others injured, the Lebanese official news agency reported on Friday.

According to the Lebanese agency, the strikes began with an attack on a home in the village of Buday, killing a man, his wife, and their two children.

Israeli forces launched further airstrikes on residential areas, particularly impacting the town of Makneh, where six members of a single family were killed and six others were wounded.

The agency reported that additional airstrikes struck the southern entrance of Baalbek, destroying a home, killing a woman, and injuring five others.

A nearby strike in the village of Douris resulted in extensive damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure, with three people sustaining minor injuries.

The news agency highlighted the broader impact of Israeli airstrikes on Baalbek-Hermel and Central Bekaa, which have so far reached 1,035 individual strikes, leading to 528 fatalities and 1,069 injuries across the region.

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 Gaza.

Nearly 2,900 people have been killed and more than 13,000 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 Ikram Kouachi