Lebanese Health Ministry Reports At Least 40 Fatalities from Israeli Strikes in Eastern Lebanon

The Lebanese health ministry reported that Israeli air strikes in eastern Lebanon on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of at least 40 individuals. The Israeli military stated that these strikes, conducted in the Baalbek and Bekaa governorates, targeted operatives and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, an armed group supported by Iran. Lebanon’s culture minister indicated that one of the strikes caused significant damage to an Ottoman-era structure situated near the Roman ruins in Baalbek, a city recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site. On Wednesday, strikes also impacted the southern suburbs of Beirut, following new evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli military. The military declared that it had targeted Hezbollah command centers, weapons storage facilities, and other infrastructure. Subsequently, a military warning was issued for four neighborhoods in southern Beirut, encompassing an area close to Lebanon’s sole commercial airport, which has remained operational throughout the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Shortly thereafter, images depicted a substantial fireball and dense black smoke ascending into the night sky over Beirut. Concurrently, paramedics reported that an Israeli man was killed near a kibbutz in northern Israel by a rocket launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah fighters. Lebanon’s Civil Defence agency announced on Wednesday morning that 30 bodies had been retrieved from a four-story apartment building struck by an Israeli attack the preceding evening. The apartment building, located in Barja, a coastal town predominantly Sunni Muslim south of Beirut and outside Hezbollah’s conventional areas of influence, was reportedly providing shelter to displaced individuals. The Israeli military asserted that it had targeted “terror infrastructure” associated with Hezbollah. A resident of an upper floor in the apartment building stated that his son and wife sustained injuries from falling masonry. Moussa Zahran, while assessing the damage, informed Reuters news agency: “These rocks that you see here weigh 100kg, they fell on a 13kg kid.” He continued, “I removed [the rocks] and… handed my son to the civil defence through the window. I carried my wife and came downstairs and got out behind the building… I thank God, glory be to Him, for this miracle.” An Irish Times correspondent quoted a civil defense member at the site, who reported that among the deceased whose bodies were recovered intact were seven women and three children – specifically, a seven-month-old infant and two girls aged seven and twelve. She further noted that neighbors also confirmed the building was sheltering displaced individuals who had evacuated from other regions. Reuters reported that no evacuation warning preceded the strike. The Lebanese health ministry initially reported 20 fatalities from the strike in Barja late on Tuesday but did not release an updated count on Wednesday. By Wednesday evening, the ministry announced that 40 individuals had died and 53 were wounded in multiple Israeli strikes across the Bekaa and Baalbek governorates, which constitute the majority of the eastern Bekaa Valley. This total included 16 deaths in Nasriyah village and 11 in Baalbek city, the ministry specified. Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada additionally informed the director-general of Unesco that one of the strikes had “caused serious damage to the ancient Manshiya building” in Baalbek city. He described this building as dating from the Ottoman period and situated near the remnants of several Roman temples. He issued a warning, stating, “The destruction of this exceptional monument next to a Unesco World Heritage site is an irremediable loss for Lebanon and for world heritage.” An AFP news agency correspondent also reported damage to the renowned 19th Century Palmyra Hotel, located near the Roman ruins, due to proximate strikes that the health ministry indicated killed two individuals. On Thursday morning, the Israeli military released a statement asserting that it had eliminated approximately 60 Hezbollah fighters through strikes on around 20 “terror targets” in the Baalbek area and north of the Litani river, approximately 30km (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. It further stated that dozens of additional strikes targeted a rocket launcher, weapons storage facilities, and other infrastructure. The military also reported killing the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the southern border region of Khiam, and that several other Hezbollah fighters had been killed by air strikes and ground troops operating within southern Lebanon during the previous day. Concurrently, Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s new secretary general, declared in a speech that the group possessed “tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” prepared for conflict and that no location in Israel was “beyond the reach of our drones and missiles”. He asserted, “I will tell you very clearly, our conviction is that only one thing can stop this war of aggression, and that is the battlefield,” and added that he did not believe “political action” would bring an end to the conflict. The Israeli military reported that Hezbollah launched approximately 170 rockets into northern and central Israel on Wednesday. That evening, the Magen David Adom ambulance service stated that a man died from a rocket strike near the kibbutz of Kfar Masaryk, situated south of the coastal town of Acre. Paramedics indicated that the man was discovered in a field with severe shrapnel injuries and was pronounced dead at the location. Subsequently, Israeli media identified the individual as Sivan Sade, an 18-year-old resident of Kfar Masaryk who had been working in the field. Also on Wednesday, Israeli media reported that a rocket struck a car park near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, although the Israel Airport Authority confirmed its operations remained uninterrupted. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting the Tzrifin military base near the airport. Furthermore, a substantial part of a rocket impacted a parked car in Raanana, a town located just north of Tel Aviv. Lebanese authorities report that since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensified six weeks ago, at least 2,400 individuals have been killed and over 1.2 million displaced throughout Lebanon. Israeli air strikes have eliminated the majority of the group’s leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah, Qassem’s predecessor, and have resulted in extensive destruction in areas of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs—regions where Hezbollah maintains a significant presence. Israel initiated its offensive against Hezbollah following nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes, which were triggered by the conflict in Gaza. Israel states its objective is to guarantee the safe return of tens of thousands of residents from northern Israeli border regions who were displaced by rocket attacks. These attacks were launched by Hezbollah in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas’s lethal assault on Israel on 7 October 2023. Israeli authorities report that Hezbollah attacks in Israel and the occupied Golan Heights have killed over 70 people in the last year.