CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; UPDATES DEATH TOLL; ADDS DETAILS
By Wassim Seifeddine
BEIRUT (AA) – At least nine people were killed on Saturday morning during a series of Israeli bombardments of Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and southern Lebanese towns.
According to Lebanon's official news agency, the Israeli army carried out 12 airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, targeting key areas.
The news agency confirmed that one person was killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the Saad Nayel neighborhood.
In addition, the director of Al-Abrar School was killed in an airstrike that targeted his residence in the Rashaya Valley town of Al-Rafid.
According to the news agency, a woman died from her injuries after being wounded in an airstrike on the town of Ain in northern Bekaa on Friday.
It stated that the deceased "was working with the Lebanese Red Cross," but no statement from the organization has been issued.
Two young men were also killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a car in Marj Harouf area of Nabatieh province in southern Lebanon, the media outlet said.
The Israeli attack also targeted a motorcycle with a guided missile, but the rider managed to escape, it added.
Separately, the Lebanese Civil Defense reported that four bodies and one injured person were pulled out of rubble following an Israeli airstrike on a house in Joya town of Tyre district in southern Lebanon.
The airstrike occurred in the early hours of Saturday, targeting a residential area, causing a building to collapse and trap civilians inside.
Meanwhile, an Anadolu correspondent reported that Israeli forces conducted another round of intense airstrikes on Saturday morning, targeting areas near the Burj al-Barajneh in Beirut's southern suburbs.
However, there are no details about casualties or damage from Israel's heavy bombing of the area.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,800 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.
At least 2,011 people have since been killed, over 9,500 injured, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi