Israeli Strike Kills 23 Syrian Workers And Family Members In Lebanon, Officials Say | rssama.com

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike successful Lebanon deed a building lodging Syrian workers and their families, sidesplitting 23 people, Lebanese officials said Thursday. It was 1 of nan deadliest azygous strikes successful an intensified aerial run against nan militant Hezbollah group.

The onslaught precocious Wednesday came arsenic nan United States and its friends called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to “provide abstraction for diplomacy.” Israel has threatened to motorboat a crushed invasion, and nan progressively dense exchanges of occurrence could trigger an all-out war.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said nan onslaught occurred adjacent nan ancient metropolis of Baalbek successful Lebanon’s northeastern Bekaa Valley, which runs on nan Syrian border. It quoted Ali Kassas, politician of nan colony of Younine, arsenic saying that nan bodies of 23 Syrian citizens were pulled from nether nan rubble. He said 4 Syrians and 4 Lebanese were wounded.

Hussein Salloum, a section charismatic successful Younine, said astir of nan dormant were women and children, and that rescue efforts lasted done nan nighttime and into Thursday morning.

“We dug done nan rubble pinch our ain hands” until a mini bulldozer was brought in, Salloum told The Associated Press by telephone. “We had very constricted capabilities.”

The Lebanese Red Cross said it recovered 9 bodies, while others were recovered by nan Hezbollah militant group’s paramedic work and nan Lebanese Civil Defense.

Lebanon, pinch a organization of astir 6 million, hosts astir 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands who are unregistered — nan world’s highest exile organization per capita.

Israel has carried retired days of dense strikes crossed Lebanon, targeting what it says are Hezbollah rocket launchers and different subject infrastructure. The militants person fired hundreds of rockets into Israel and connected Wednesday targeted Tel Aviv for nan first clip pinch a longer-range rocket that was intercepted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is walking to nan United States for nan U.N. General Assembly, has not yet responded to nan cease-fire proposal. But his overseas minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would proceed fighting “with afloat unit until victory.”

Hezbollah has besides not yet responded to nan proposal. The militant group has insisted it would only halt its strikes if location is simply a cease-fire successful Gaza, which appears retired of scope contempt months of negotiations led by nan United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Israeli strikes since Monday person killed much than 630 group successful Lebanon, according to section wellness authorities, who opportunity astir a 4th were women and children. Several group person been wounded by shrapnel successful Israel.

Israel struck 75 sites overnight crossed confederate and eastbound Lebanon, nan subject said. At slightest 45 projectiles were fired from Lebanon early Thursday, each of which were intercepted aliases fell successful unfastened areas, it said.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel aft Hamas’ Oct. 7 onslaught ignited nan warfare successful Gaza, hoping to pin down Israeli forces. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are adjacent friends of Iran.

The fighting has killed dozens of group successful Israel and driven tens of thousands from their homes connected some sides of nan border.

Israel has vowed to do immoderate is basal to let its citizens to return, and it has moved thousands of troops to nan bluish separator successful mentation for a imaginable crushed operation.

___

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Related

Lebanon