Nov. 7 (UPI) — Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon have killed 40 people and injured dozens more, according to Beirut’s health ministry.
The strikes occurred Wednesday on the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, the ministry said in a statement announcing the 40 dead and 53 injured.
“Rescue and rubble removal operations are still ongoing in search of missing persons,” it said.
The Israeli military has not commented on the strike, though it said fighter jets on Wednesday attacked Hezbollah targets throughout Nabatieh in southern Lebanon and suburbs south of Beirut.
The Israel Defense Forces said it hit command and control complexes, as well as munitions warehouses of Hezbollah in Nabatieh, accusing the Iran-backed militia of using civilian spaces in the country to carry out its attacks on Israel.
IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee had earlier Wednesday said IDF warplanes targeted command headquarters, weapons depots and Hezbollah military structures in the Beirut suburbs.
He added that, prior to the strikes, steps were taken to reduce civilian casualties, including using precision munitions.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading attacks across the Lebanese border amid Israel’s war with Hamas, another Iran-backed militia.
The fighting has escalated since Sept. 23, with Israel intensifying its airstrikes on Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, some 3,050 people have died and more than 13,600 have been wounded amid the year of fighting, though the majority of the casualties were incurred since September.