BEIRUT: An Israeli airstrike in east Lebanon hit a building housing Syrian workers and their families, killing 23 people, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Thursday after world leaders announced efforts for a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel to allow time for broader talks.
Lebanon’s health ministry said that an “Israeli enemy strike on the village of Younine in eastern Lebanon” killed “23 Syrian nationals,” raising an earlier toll of nine dead. This attack is reported to be one of the deadliest single strikes amid an ongoing Israeli air campaign in Lebanon.
The strike occurred near the ancient city of Baalbek in Lebanon’s northeastern Bekaa Valley, an area close to the Syrian border. Lebanese officials said that the building struck housed Syrian workers and their families.
Local authorities reported that rescue operations continued through the night, with efforts hampered by limited resources. “We dug through the rubble with our own hands,” said Hussein Salloum, a local official.
Ali Kassas, the mayor of Younine, said that the bodies of 23 Syrian citizens had been recovered from under the debris, with additional reports indicating that four Syrians and four Lebanese were also injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies have called for an “immediate” 21-day Lebanon ceasefire to facilitate diplomatic negotiations. France and the United States are working to hammer out a temporary ceasefire, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday.
“A diplomatic solution is indeed possible. In recent days, we’ve worked with our American partners on a temporary ceasefire platform of 21 days to allow for negotiations,” he told the 15-member UN Security Council. He said the plan would be made public soon.
“We are counting on both parties to accept it without delay, to protect civilian populations and allow for diplomatic negotiations to begin,” the French Foreign Minister said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently attending the UN General Assembly in the United States, has not publicly addressed the ceasefire proposal. His foreign minister, Israel Katz, emphasized that Israel would continue its military operations “with full force until victory.”
Hezbollah has also not yet responded to the proposal. The militant group has insisted it would only halt its strikes if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, which appears out of reach despite months of negotiations led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Since Monday, Israeli airstrikes have killed over 630 people, mostly women and children, in Lebanon, according to local health authorities.
Israel has carried out days of heavy strikes across Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel and on Wednesday targeted Tel Aviv for the first time with a longer-range missile.
Israeli strikes since Monday have killed more than 630 people in Lebanon, according to local health authorities, who say around a quarter were women and children. Several people have been wounded by shrapnel in Israel.
