Over 50 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Lebanon as Conflict Widens
Red Cross Warns Civilians in Grave Danger Amid Escalation
More than 50 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon as hostilities in the Middle East intensified, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
The ministry said the death toll from the latest strikes has risen to 52, with at least 154 people wounded. Earlier figures released by Lebanon’s state news agency had put the toll at 31 dead and 149 injured before the updated assessment.
The escalation followed rocket fire towards Israel by Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group aligned with Tehran. In response, Israel launched what it described as sweeping airstrikes targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut and positions linked to senior militants.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned both the rocket launches from Lebanese territory and Israel’s retaliatory strikes. He warned against using Lebanon as a platform for regional conflicts, stating that continued involvement in external wars could expose the country to grave risks.
The spiralling conflict has raised alarm among humanitarian agencies. Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said widening hostilities across the Middle East were placing civilians in grave danger.
She cautioned that the scale of expanding military operations risked drawing the region and beyond into a large scale armed conflict that could overwhelm humanitarian response capacities.
The violence forms part of a broader confrontation that has spread across multiple fronts in recent days, heightening fears of a wider regional war. [KNT]
