An Israeli attack on a village in eastern Lebanon kills at least 12 | Story

The attacks hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late Monday as Israel expanded into Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 12 people and wounded others in eastern Lebanon, Lebanese state media said, as a ceasefire deepened.

Airstrikes hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late Monday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said it had destroyed more than 100 positions of Hezbollah and “terrorists” in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon as a result of the violence.

The threats came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would allow Hezbollah to carry out heavy strikes across Lebanon, while also pushing for a US-led coalition that began last month.

Reporting from Mashghara, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said there were at least 10 protests within half an hour in the residential area.

“There is no final death toll because people are still missing.

According to Khodr, the attack was seen “as part of a campaign to pressure Israel against Hezbollah”.

“The Israeli army has been trying to improve security and force Hezbollah to stop using its explosive devices that have been targeting Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon and Israel in northern Israel.”

Elsewhere, the NNA reported that the southern Lebanese towns of Arnoun, Yohmor al-Shaqif, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Mayfadoun had been bombed by Israeli warplanes, which also came close to Beaufort Castle in the Nabatieh district.

Mayfadoun has faced several Israeli attacks since dawn, while Shahour and Srifa in southern Lebanon’s Tire district have been hit by shelling, NNA reported.

Also, Al Jazeera reported airstrikes on the towns of Kawthariyat al-Ruz, Sarafina, Kafr and Majdal Selem, all in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army also issued an order to force the residents of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.

“To be safe, you must leave your homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani river. Anyone who is close to Hezbollah members, places or weapons is putting their lives at risk!” The Arab military spokesman, Avichay Adraee, wrote on X.

Lebanon was drawn into the United States by Israel’s war on Iran on March 2, after Tehran-allied Hezbollah launched attacks in Israel.

Hezbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, and Israel’s near-daily violations of the ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.

More than 3,100 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, and more than 9,600 have been injured. About a million people have been displaced.