Lebanon’s Civil Defence service said Wednesday they have pulled 30 bodies and remains out of the rubble of an apartment building that Israel struck the night before in the town of Barja, about 33 km south of Beirut. Search efforts were ongoing.
The airstrike Tuesday hit an area that had not been regularly targeted by the Israeli military. It came without warning. There was no statement from the Israeli military on the strike, and it was not immediately clear what the intended target was.
Civil defense official Mostafa Danaj said it was unclear how many survivors or bodies were still trapped under the rubble. “We hope that there isn’t anyone else, but the neighbors have said that there are still people (missing),” he said.
Washington has been seeking a permanent settlement between Israel and Lebanon, but some analysts doubt any deal before Donald Trump takes office after the Republican candidate won the US presidency.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel continued to kill scores of people in airstrikes targeting the north of the devastated territory.  At least 15 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a building housing displaced people in Beit Lahia. A mother and her three children were among the casualties.
An earlier strike on Tuesday evening killed five people in the Al-Zarqa neighbourhood north of Gaza City. UN agencies have warned that everyone in northern Gaza is at imminent risk of death as Israel pursues a suspected plan designed to kill, starve, or expel the remaining inhabitants of the area.
