Beirut, Sep 26 (IANS) At least 51 people were killed and 223 injured due to the continued Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The Ministry on Wednesday confirmed casualties in several locations across southern and eastern Lebanon, including Bint Jbeil, Ain Qana, Qabrikha and Tebnine, Xinhua news agency reported.
Military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes targeted around 90 villages and towns in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Among the casualties was Kamel Karaki, a photojournalist for Lebanese Al-Manar TV, killed in a strike on the southeastern village of Qantara.
Meanwhile, local media reported at least seven fatalities and 16 injuries from strikes near Beirut, with three deaths in Maaysrah, northeast of the capital, and four in Joun, Chouf district.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Hezbollah fired a surface-to-surface missile at Tel Aviv early Wednesday, triggering sirens in the city and surrounding areas.
The IDF said it intercepted the missile using the David’s Sling defence system, with no injuries or damage reported.
The military later added it had struck the Hezbollah launcher in southern Lebanon’s Nafakhiyeh.
In a statement, the IDF announced that it had called up two reserve ground brigades to the Israel-Lebanon border following a “situational assessment,” adding that the troops would be deployed for “operational activities on the northern front”.
It noted that the mobilisation would “enable the continuation of combat against Hezbollah, the defence of Israel, and create the conditions for northern Israel’s residents to return to their homes”.
This surge in violence follows Israeli bombardments on Monday and Tuesday, the most extensive Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2006.
Official figures indicate the two-day strikes have killed more than 550 and wounded around 1,800 in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi and five others, according to the Shia militant group.
The escalation comes after last week’s explosions targeting communication devices across Lebanon, which left dozens dead.
The cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has been ongoing since October 8, 2023, following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel.
–IANS
int/khz