Middle East latest: Israeli jets pummel southern Lebanon and Beirut's suburbs
Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people including a city mayor, Lebanese officials said. Hezbollah acting leader Sheikh Naim Kassem declared Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group would ramp up attacks on Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike Monday on an apartment building in northern Lebanon that killed at least 22 people. Israel said it struck a target belonging to Hezbollah, but the United Nations called for an independent investigation. Israel has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in recent weeks, after a year of near-daily exchanges of cross-border fire. It’s been more than a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and…
16 Oct 18:15 · iNFOnews.ca