Israeli air strikes on eastern Lebanon village kill at least 12
Al Jazeera Staff
Israeli air strikes on the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, have killed at least 12 people and wounded many others, according to state media. The attacks came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized more intense strikes against Hezbollah, adding pressure to a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Israeli air strikes have killed at least 12 people and wounded many others in eastern Lebanon, according to state media, as a fragile ceasefire faces mounting pressure.
The strikes targeted the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late on Monday, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it struck over 100 infrastructure sites and "Hezbollah terrorists" in the Bekaa Valley and across southern Lebanon in the aerial assault.
The attacks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had authorized more intense air strikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon, adding pressure to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect last month.
Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr, reporting from Mashghara, said there were at least 10 attacks within half an hour on an area with residential buildings.
"The final casualty count is not yet known because many people are still missing. Excavators are still digging through the rubble," she reported.
According to Khodr, the attack is seen as "part of Israel's campaign to pressure Hezbollah."
"The Israeli military is trying to change the security situation and pressure Hezbollah to stop using explosive drones against Israeli soldiers occupying southern Lebanon and Israeli positions in northern Israel," she said.
Elsewhere, NNA reported that southern Lebanese towns including Arnoun, Yohmor al-Shaqif, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, and Mayfadoun came under heavy shelling by Israeli forces, which also spread to the vicinity of Beaufort Castle in the Nabatieh district.
Mayfadoun was hit by a series of Israeli air strikes from dawn, while Shahour and Srifa in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon were also under bombardment, NNA said.
Additionally, Al Jazeera reported air strikes on the towns of Kawthariyat al-Ruz, Sarafina, Kafr, and Majdal Selem, all in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military also issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone near Hezbollah members, facilities, or military equipment is putting their lives at risk!" Avichay Adraee, the military's Arabic-language spokesman, posted on X.
Lebanon was drawn into the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran on March 2, after Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel's killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, February 28, as well as near-daily Israeli violations of the ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.
More than 3,100 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, and more than 9,600 wounded. At least one million people have been displaced.
