An apartment building in northern Lebanon was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least 21 people, as reported by the Lebanese Red Cross. The Israeli military has not provided a comment on the incident, and the target of the strike remains unclear. The village of Aito, where the strike occurred, is located in the Christian heartland of northern Lebanon, far from the areas where the Hezbollah militant group typically operates.
Videos from Lebanese media showed a large plume of smoke rising from the village, with destroyed cars and a severely damaged building in the aftermath of the strike. People were seen trying to rescue individuals trapped under rubble and trees. The airstrike came the day after a Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel killed four soldiers and injured seven others.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the army base where the attack took place, promising to continue targeting Hezbollah in various parts of Lebanon, including Beirut. The attack on the army base resulted in 61 injuries. Hezbollah has launched numerous rockets, missiles, and drones into Israel over the past year, with more than 60 casualties reported.
In Lebanon, over 2,300 individuals have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since last October, with the majority of deaths occurring in the past month. Hezbollah, in alliance with Hamas, has pledged to continue its assaults on Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. Israel asserts that its operations against Hezbollah are aimed at preventing further attacks, allowing displaced Israelis to return to their homes near the Lebanese border.
Furthermore, an Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip led to the deaths of four individuals and ignited a fire in a tent camp for displaced individuals, causing severe burns to over two dozen people. The Israeli military claimed that the strike targeted militants hidden among civilians. The hospital, already overwhelmed with the wounded from a previous strike, struggled to treat the new casualties.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has resulted in significant casualties and displacement in Gaza. Israeli rights groups have raised concerns about a plan to force the evacuation of the northern third of Gaza’s population, potentially labeling those who remain as combatants. The international community has been urged to prevent Israel from implementing this plan, which is seen as a violation of international law.
In response to the escalating situation, the Israeli military allowed 30 trucks carrying flour and food to enter northern Gaza. However, the overall humanitarian crisis in the region persists, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced and large areas of Gaza destroyed. The conflict shows no signs of abating, prompting calls for international intervention to address the humanitarian and human rights issues arising from the violence.
