UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE
By Wassim Seifeddine
BEIRUT (AA) - At least two people were killed and 22 others injured in Israeli airstrikes on a Palestinian camp in southern Lebanon on Tuesday evening, the Health Ministry said.
The ministry expected the death toll to rise as efforts were still underway to search for victims under the rubble.
The Lebanese state news agency NNA said Israeli fighter jets carried out three airstrikes on a library in the Rashidieh refugee camp in Tyre.
The attack came as Israel’s Security Cabinet convened on Tuesday evening to vote on a US-backed cease-fire proposal with Lebanon.
Israeli media reported early Monday that a cease-fire deal is expected to be announced between Israel and Hezbollah within two days.
Lebanese parliamentarian Qassem Hashem also said on Monday that a cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel is nearing completion and could be declared within the next 36 hours if negotiations proceed smoothly.
“The atmosphere is positive, and cease-fire discussions have reached an advanced stage. It’s only a matter of hours before an agreement is finalized and announced if progress continues as expected,” Hashem told Anadolu.
Israel has escalated its airstrikes in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets as part of year-long warfare against the Lebanese group since the start of the Gaza war last year.
More than 3,760 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,700 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel on Oct. 1 this year expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala