Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon have escalated dramatically in recent days, and nowhere more than the eastern Bekaa Valley, where the governor of Baalbek described this as the “most violent day” they’ve seen since the beginning of Israel’s invasion.
The overall death toll is continue to rise, but right now the reckoning is at least 60 people have been slain in strikes against multiple cities and towns in the area throughout Monday. A number of children were reportedly among the slain.
The largest attack was in Aallaq, where 16 people were killed. The national news agency said the overall toll there is expected to rise further, as they’re still recovering people from the rubble.
At least 58 people have already been recovered as wounded by rescue workers across the region. That number too is likely to rise, as the Health Ministry reports that rescue workers are still active in multiple areas trying to find more survivors.
Just north of the Syrian border, the Bekaa Valley has been a common target for Israeli airstrikes since last year, though usually those strikes were confined to border crossings and nominally meant to hit Hezbollah targets going back and forth across the border. Today’s attacks seem to center on populated areas.
That seems to be the trend with most of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which are concentrated increasingly on residential districts. As with Tyre, which has also been under growing attack, the Bekaa Valley is home to a UN World Heritage Site, and there is concern that will come under attack itself in the days and weeks to come.
Source: AntiWar.
