Israeli attack in northern Lebanon, at least 21 killed

2024-10-14 22:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

The Israeli military did not comment on the attack and it remains unclear what its purpose was. The attack hit a small residential building in the village of Aito, which is in the Christian-populated part of the country in the north and far from the main areas of influence of the militant group Hezbollah in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Footage from Lebanese media showed a plume of smoke rising from the hillside village and several wrecked cars near the heavily damaged building as people tried to remove bodies from the rubble.

The incident came a day after a Hezbollah drone attack on a military base in northern Israel killed four soldiers - all 19 years old - and seriously wounded seven others. It was the deadliest attack the militant group has carried out since Israel launched its ground offensive in Lebanon two weeks ago.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the military base and soldiers injured in the attack, vowing that "we will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in every part of Lebanon, including Beirut."

Sixty-one people were injured in Sunday's attack.

Over the past year, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets and drones into Israel, killing more than 60 people, although Israel intercepted most of them through its missile defense system. Some of them hit uninhabited areas.

In Lebanon, since October last year, 2,300 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Over a third of these deaths occurred in the past month.

Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has vowed to continue attacking Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza. Israel says the campaign against Hezbollah is aimed at ending attacks by this group to enable the return of displaced Israelis from their homes in the area along the border with Lebanon./VOA