At least 21 people were killed and eight others injured following an unusual Israeli air strike in northern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The strike hit a residential building in Aitou, a predominantly Christian village far from the usual conflict zones targeted by the Israeli military, which typically focuses on Hezbollah strongholds.
The village of Aitou, nestled in the mountains near Tripoli, had recently become home to several families displaced by ongoing fighting in the south.
The building, which had been rented out just two weeks prior, housed one of these families.
Residents were shocked, having received no warning before the powerful explosion ripped through their quiet community. “Oh mother Mary,” a stunned man exclaimed as he surveyed the devastation, bodies lying amid smoke and debris.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the incident, but the attack follows a vow from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to relentlessly target Hezbollah throughout Lebanon.
“We will continue to strike Hezbollah without mercy everywhere in Lebanon – including Beirut,” he declared during a visit to a northern Israeli military base.
Netanyahu’s tough rhetoric comes after a drone, launched by Hezbollah, killed four Israeli soldiers and injured dozens at a Golani Brigade training facility near Binyamina, despite Israel’s advanced air defense systems.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has flared up following the war in Gaza, has seen repeated cross-border exchanges.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the drone strike, describing it as retaliation for the rising death toll in Lebanon due to Israeli air strikes.
Lebanese health authorities estimate that nearly 1,700 people have died in the past month alone as a result of Israeli attacks, most of which have hit Hezbollah-dominated areas in the Shia-majority south and the Bekaa Valley.
Aitou, however, had not anticipated such violence. The area, home to Maronite Christians, is far removed from Hezbollah’s power centers. Yet, local reports suggest that a man had arrived in a car shortly before the building was targeted.
A Lebanese security source told AFP that the building appeared to have been deliberately hit after his arrival, raising questions about the exact target of the attack. The health ministry is conducting DNA tests to identify the remains of those killed.
While the Israeli military intensifies its operations in southern Lebanon, eastern regions, and the suburbs of Beirut, including areas where incidents involving UN peacekeepers have occurred, the situation remains tense.
UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon have refused to withdraw despite Israeli calls.
The UN Security Council has expressed concern after several peacekeepers were injured during the conflict.
On the same day as the air strike on Aitou, Israel reported that its forces had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit from the elite Radwan Force in the Nabatieh region.
Hezbollah has not commented on this, but the Israeli military continues to target Hezbollah infrastructure. Monday alone saw over 115 projectiles launched into Israel by Hezbollah, mostly intercepted or falling in uninhabited areas.
One woman was slightly injured when 15 rockets were fired toward Karmiel, and debris from another interception fell in the Holon area south of Tel Aviv.
In a broader escalation, the Israel Defense Forces reported striking over 200 Hezbollah targets across southern and deeper regions of Lebanon over the past day.
These operations, coordinated with ground troops, focused on destroying terrorist cells, missile posts, and other Hezbollah assets. The IDF claims to have eliminated dozens of Hezbollah fighters and dismantled key infrastructure while seizing large quantities of weapons.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah shows no sign of abating, with both sides digging in for further escalation.
