Death toll in Israeli airstrike on civil defense center in eastern Lebanon rises to 12

By Anadolu staff

The death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a civil defense center in Douris, in Lebanon’s Baalbek district, has risen to 12, Lebanon’s official news agency reported on Friday.

The airstrike targeted the town of Douris late Thursday, causing the collapse of the civil defense center and the destruction of an adjacent building, according to the National News Agency.

On Thursday, the agency reported that the initial death toll in the Israeli airstrike was seven.

“The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek was targeted while more than 20 civil defense personnel were inside,” Bachir Khodr, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel, wrote on X.

Israel this September launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare.

Nearly 3,400 people have been killed, over 14,400 injured and more than 1 million people displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel on Oct. 1 launched an incursion into southern Lebanon.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​