Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon village kill at least 12 people

Israeli air attacks struck Mashghara in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley late Monday, with reports of at least 12 deaths and additional injuries. The Israeli military said it targeted more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and personnel across the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. The strikes followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorization of more intensive action against Hezbollah, increasing pressure on a US-brokered ceasefire that began last month. Observers reported multiple attacks within a short period over areas with residential buildings, with people still missing and excavators continuing to search rubble. Additional shelling and bombardment were reported in several southern towns, including areas near Beaufort Castle, with repeated attacks beginning at dawn in Mayfadoun.

"The attacks hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late Monday as Israeli intensified its assault across Lebanon. Israeli air attacks have killed at least 12 people and wounded others in eastern Lebanon, state media reported, as a fragile ceasefire comes under growing strain. The air attacks hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late on Monday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported on Tuesday."

"The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and terrorists in the Bekaa Valley and across southern Lebanon in the wave of attacks. The attacks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorised more intensive strikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon, putting further pressure on a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect last month."

"Reporting from Mashghara, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr said there were at least 10 attacks in the span of half an hour on an area with residential buildings. There's no final death toll because people remain missing. Excavators are still digging through the rubble, she reported. According to Khodr, the attack was seen as part of a pressure campaign by Israel against Hezbollah."

"Elsewhere, NNA reported that the southern Lebanese towns of Arnoun, Yohmor al-Shaqif, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Mayfadoun were under heavy artillery bombardment by Israeli forces, also reaching the vicinity of the Beaufort Castle in Nabatieh district. Mayfadoun had been subjected to a series of Israeli air attacks since dawn, while Shahour and Srifa in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon are being subjected to shelling, NNA said."

Read at www.aljazeera.com