Israeli airstrikes on villages in Lebanon killed at least 15 people on Saturday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The strikes targeted areas outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds, raising concerns about escalating violence in regions not typically affected by the ongoing conflict.
In Maaysra, a village with a Shiite Muslim majority located in a mostly Christian mountain region north of Beirut, an Israeli strike resulted in nine deaths and 15 injuries, the health ministry reported. Rescue workers were seen trying to clear the rubble, using excavators and sledgehammers to break through concrete in an effort to recover bodies trapped beneath the debris.
In a separate strike on Barja, located in the Shouf district south of Beirut, four people were killed and 18 others were injured. Additionally, two people died in Deir Billa, a village near Batroun on Lebanon’s northern coast. Authorities reported finding body parts at the scene, with DNA testing underway to identify the victims. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the strike in Deir Billa hit a house where families from southern Lebanon had taken refuge. Witnesses described the devastating aftermath, with personal belongings scattered among the wreckage and smoke still rising from the debris.
In eastern Lebanon, the Tal Chiha hospital near the predominantly Christian town of Zahle sustained minor damage from nearby strikes. Fortunately, no patients or staff were harmed, and the hospital continued to operate despite the damage.
Since late September, Israel has ramped up its bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut, claiming to target Hezbollah sites. However, the strikes on Maaysra, Barja, Deir Billa, and Zahle—areas not typically associated with Hezbollah—have sparked concerns about the growing civilian toll and the expanding scope of the conflict.
