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In a series of intense strikes on Wednesday, Israel targeted Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, killing a city mayor and leveling numerous buildings. The bombardment caused significant damage across several towns, with local authorities reporting heavy casualties and widespread panic as residents fled the destruction.
The latest wave of violence between Israel and Hezbollah erupted shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected growing international pleas for a ceasefire, signaling a continued escalation of hostilities along the border.
The Israeli military confirmed that its aircraft targeted numerous Hezbollah facilities in Nabatiyeh, a southern city controlled by the group and its ally, Amal, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing military operations against the Lebanese militants.
Six people were killed and 43 others wounded in airstrikes on two municipal buildings, the Lebanese health ministry announced. Rescuers are still working around the clock to find survivors buried beneath the rubble, raising concerns over potential further casualties.
The city’s mayor was counted among the dead, a local official told AFP, further noting that the strikes had carved “a belt of fire” around the area, amplifying the already severe destruction.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying that Israel “deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation”.
Rescuers were also searching through rubble for survivors in the southern Lebanese village of Qana, where Israeli strikes killed three people and injured 54 on Tuesday, the Lebanese ministry said.
AFP footage showed mass destruction in the village, where entire buildings had been levelled.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli air strikes hit Hezbollah’s main stronghold in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
Read also: Lebanon’s Army Stands Aside As Israel And Hezbollah Clash
Hezbollah said its fighters were locked in clashes at “point-blank range” near the southern village of Al-Qawzah.
Israel ramped up its bombardment, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds, in late September and sent ground troops across the Lebanese border on September 30.
The Israel-Hezbollah war has left at least 1,373 people dead in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.