Four people were killed, including the mayor, in an Israeli raid on Saturday that targeted the Western Bekaa in eastern Lebanon. The Israeli army also launched two new raids on the southern suburb of Beirut, less than an hour after it issued an evacuation warning to the residents of Haret Hreik in the suburb.
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported on Saturday that an Israeli raid on “a residential apartment in the town of Baaloul” led to “the fall of four martyrs, including the mayor of Sohmar, Haidar Shahla,” a neighboring town, in addition to a number of wounded.
For his part, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee posted on “X”: “An urgent warning to the residents of the southern suburb, specifically those in the buildings specified on the two maps and located in Haret Hreik. You are located near Hezbollah installations and interests, against which the Israeli army will act over time.
This coincides with the killing of two people in an Israeli raid that targeted a car on a highway linking Beirut to northern Lebanon, as reported by the Lebanese Ministry of Health and official media. This is the first time this region has been targeted since the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel began more than a year ago.
In Israel, a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Saturday, killing a man near the coastal city of Acre.
The Magen David Adom Service said in a statement: “Paramedics announced the death of a man aged about 50 who was injured by shrapnel while sitting in his car in Akka.”
The Israeli army announced that at least 115 projectiles were fired on Saturday from Lebanon towards it, and the missiles were fired mainly at northern Israel, with sirens sounding throughout the region.
Hezbollah bombs Haifa and Safed
For its part, Hezbollah announced, on Saturday, the bombing of the Haifa area in northern Israel with missiles, also targeting a military base there, days after it announced the launch of a “new and escalating phase” in the confrontation with Israel.
The party reported in a second statement that its fighters bombed “the Krayot north of the city of Haifa with a large missile launcher,” in response to “the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and safe houses.”
In Kiryat Ata in the Haifa area, footage from Agence France-Presse showed damage to a three-storey building, two burned cars and another damaged one, while firefighters, the army and the police deployed to the site.
Hezbollah added in a statement that it bombed the city of Safed in northern Israel with missiles, shortly after claiming responsibility for targeting the Haifa area as well.
Over the course of about a month, at least 1,418 people were killed in Lebanon in Israeli bombing, according to a census conducted by Agence France-Presse based on official data.
Last updated: October 19, 2024 – 16:25
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