Israeli Strike Kills 23 Syrians in Lebanon’s Younine

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on September 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on September 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Israeli Strike Kills 23 Syrians in Lebanon’s Younine

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on September 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on September 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

At least 23 people, all of them Syrian and most of them women or children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a three-story building in the eastern Lebanese town of Younine late on Wednesday, Mayor Ali Qusas told Reuters.

Lebanon is home to around 1.5 million Syrians who fled the civil war there.

Lebanon's state-run news agency said the airstrike occurred near the ancient city of Baalbek, in the eastern Bekaa Valley running along the Syrian border.

The agency quoted Qusas as saying that the bodies of 23 Syrian citizens were pulled from under the rubble. He said four Syrians and four Lebanese were wounded.

Israeli airstrikes overnight hit around 75 Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and ready-to-fire launchers, the Israeli military said on Thursday.

Israel has made a priority of securing its northern border and allowing the return there of some 70,000 residents displaced by near-daily exchanges of fire, which Hezbollah initiated a year ago in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and at least 72 people were killed, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements. The ministry earlier said at least 223 were wounded.

Around half a million Lebanese have fled their homes and hospitals have been overwhelmed with the wounded.

Israel's military chief said a ground assault was possible, raising fears the conflict could spark a wider Middle East war.



Israel and Hezbollah Claim Battlefield Wins

Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut's southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut's southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Israel and Hezbollah Claim Battlefield Wins

Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut's southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut's southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Israel's army and Hezbollah's militant leaders are both claiming success on the battlefield after the sides entered into a ceasefire Wednesday.
Israel said it degraded Hezbollah's capabilities and decapitated its senior leadership, while the Lebanese militant group said it put up a stiff defense to Israel's ground invasion “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed “victory” over Israeli forces and said its fighters were “fully prepared” to counter any future Israeli actions.
"Their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty,” the statement from Hezbollah's operations center said Wednesday, its first public comments since the ceasefire took effect.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the army had weakened Hezbollah's ability to launch rockets and drones into Israel, and targeted its ability to resupply and manufacture weapons.
“We are also preparing for the possibility of returning to intense combat,” Hagari said in a video statement Wednesday. He said that throughout the nearly 14 months of fighting, Israel struck 12,500 targets across Lebanon, including around 360 targets in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh.
It was not possible to independently confirm battlefield claims by either side. The ceasefire agreement gives Israel and Hezbollah militants 60 days to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon near the border.