Israeli jets pummel southern Lebanon and Beirut suburbs

Israel has ramped up air strikes across Lebanon, killing a city mayor, toppling buildings and causing widespread destruction in several southern areas.

The latest strikes came with Israel under increasing international pressure after its forces attacked United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, causing several injuries.

The Israeli army said its warplanes struck dozens of targets linked to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the southern city of Nabatieh on Wednesday.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed and 52 injured in the strikes on two municipal buildings, adding that rescuers were searching for survivors.

Lebanese officials denounced the attack, saying it was evidence that Israel’s campaign against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah group was now shifting to target the Lebanese state.

The Israelis “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city’s service and relief situation” to aid people displaced by the Israeli campaign, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

In a separate attack late on Tuesday, at least 15 people were killed in the southern town of Qana. The Israeli military said they were targeting a Hezbollah commander in the strikes.

Hezbollah’s acting leader Naim Qassem declared on Tuesday that the group would ramp up attacks on Israel in response to an Israeli air strike on Monday on an apartment building in northern Lebanon that killed at least 22 people. Israel said it struck a target belonging to Hezbollah. The UN 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. At least 2,367 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since October 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.