More than 20 individuals lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on a Christian town in northern Lebanon, which led Hezbollah to retaliate by launching rockets at Tel Aviv, intensifying the ongoing multifront conflict.
The situation was particularly grim in the Gaza Strip, where four people were killed in an Israeli bombing of a hospital courtyard.
Another attack on a nearby school used as a shelter resulted in at least 20 fatalities, and a drone strike claimed the lives of five children in the al-Shati camp of Gaza City, according to local health officials.
Human rights organizations accuse Israel of attempting to forcibly remove the remaining residents of northern Gaza amid a renewed assault on the besieged territory.
The Israeli military stated it is investigating reports of civilian casualties from the three incidents that occurred on Sunday and Monday.
The airstrike in Lebanon hit Aitou, a Maronite village close to Tripoli, on Monday afternoon, striking a small apartment building and resulting in 21 deaths, as reported by the Lebanese Red Cross.
Footage broadcast on Lebanese television showed extensive damage, destroyed vehicles, and casualties lying in the street as people searched through the debris.
Aitou is situated far from Hezbollah’s strongholds in Beirut and southern Lebanon. According to reports, the building was rented by families displaced due to the ongoing war.
This attack is one of several recent strikes targeting areas believed to be “safe,” including a bombing of a displacement center in the southern town of Wardaniyeh last week.
Israel is also facing international backlash for at least three incidents that injured five members of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
On Monday, Italy, Britain, France, and Germany issued a joint statement condemning Israel for its repeated assaults on UN peacekeepers, stating that these actions must cease immediately and that deliberate attacks violate international law.
Since the onset of Israel’s ground campaign against Hezbollah, five peacekeepers have been injured in attacks attributed mostly to Israeli forces.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell remarked on the importance of their work, calling attacks on UN personnel “completely unacceptable.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to allegations that Israeli forces deliberately targeted peacekeepers, calling them “completely false.” He reiterated his request for peacekeeping troops to withdraw from combat zones near the border, asserting that Hezbollah has used UNIFIL positions as shields for attacks that have killed Israelis. Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, while expressing regret for any harm to UN personnel but asserting that their safety would be best ensured by adhering to Israel’s requests.
There was no immediate response from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or Hezbollah regarding the strike in Aitou or its target.
The IDF stated it had aimed at Muhammad Kamel Naim, the head of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit, in a strike on Monday in the southern city of Nabatieh.
Hezbollah appeared to retaliate for the Aitou attack by firing at least three rockets at Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial and diplomatic center, triggering air raid sirens across central and northern Israel. The attack was intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. Hezbollah’s drone strike on Sunday resulted in the deadliest attack to date in the two-week-old conflict, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring seven others.
In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pledged a “forceful response” to the assault.
In Gaza, an Israeli strike on the courtyard of al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah early Monday killed four people and caused a significant fire, resulting in severe burns for 25 others.
