UPDATE - 23 killed, 45 injured in fresh Israeli airstrikes on eastern Lebanon

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Wassim Seifeddine​​​​​​​

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel killed 23 people and injured 45 others on Saturday in a series of airstrikes on several towns in the Baalbek region of eastern Lebanon, state media and the Health Ministry said.

At least 13 people, including four children, were killed, and 13 others were injured when Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the town of Shmustar.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said among the dead was a mother and her four children.

Five more people lost their lives and five others got injured in the town of Bodai.

Four people were killed and three others injured in the town of Flawiye, while another person was killed in the town of Brital.

Israeli airstrikes also injured 18 people in the town of Ras al-Ain, and three were wounded in the town of Hourtala.

In the Zahle district of Bekaa governorate, an Israeli airstrike in the Harat al-Fikani area killed one person and injured three others.

Israel has engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets.

Over 3,600 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with more than 15,300 injured and over 1 million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​