Israeli strikes in Lebanon leave 23 dead

BEIRUT, Nov 13 (BBC): At least 23 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on two houses in central Lebanon where displaced families were reportedly living, the Lebanese health ministry says.

Fifteen people, mostly women and children, were killed in Joun and eight others were killed near Baalchmay. Both villages are in the Mount Lebanon region and outside areas where the armed group Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the strikes, which came after it hit what it said were a number of Hezbollah targets in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Meanwhile, two people were killed by Hezbollah rocket fire in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya. It came a day after Israel's defence minister ruled out a ceasefire with Hezbollah until its war goals were met.

The Israeli military went on the offensive against Hezbollah - which it proscribes as a terrorist organisation - after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza.

Israel says it wants to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of northern Israeli border area residents displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah launched in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

More than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, including 2,600 in the seven weeks since Israel launched an intense air campaign followed by a ground invasion in the south, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Another 1.2 million people have been displaced.

On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military carried out at least 10 strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahieh, after issuing evacuation orders for 11 locations.

Lebanese media reported that several buildings were levelled, including a medical centre in the Bir al-Abed area, but there were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets, including command centres and weapons production sites.

In the evening, the Israeli military declared that it had "dismantled a majority of Hezbollah's weapons storage and missile manufacturing facilities" that had been "systematically concealed beneath civilian buildings" in Dahieh.

Most residents of Dahieh - one of the areas where Hezbollah has a significant presence, along with southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley - have fled because their neighbourhoods have been targeted repeatedly since September.

On Tuesday night, the Lebanese health ministry said 15 people were killed, including eight women and four children, in an Israeli strike on a house in Joun, in the Chouf mountains near the southern coastal city of Sidon.

The state-run National News Agency reported that displaced families had been staying there. Residents and a security official said another house where displaced families had taken refuge was hit in Baalchmay, 30km (20 miles) to the north-east, killing eight people and injuring five.

Wael Murtada told the Associated Press that the home had belonged to his uncle and that those inside had fled from Dahieh about 40 days ago. He said at least three children were among the dead.

The targets of the two strikes were unclear. Elsewhere in Lebanon, five people were killed in a strike in the southern village of Teffahta, according to the health ministry.