Israeli Strike Kills 23 Syrian Workers Near Baalbek

On Thursday, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a building in northeastern Lebanon, near Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing 23 Syrian workers and injuring eight others. The airstrike occurred late Wednesday and impacted a region close to the Syrian border.

The mayor of Younine, Ali Kassas, confirmed that the victims included 23 Syrians found in the debris, alongside four injured Syrians and four Lebanese nationals. Local official Hussein Salloum noted that the casualties primarily included women and children, and described the community’s efforts to rescue survivors, which continued into Thursday morning with limited resources until additional help, such as a bulldozer, arrived.

The Lebanese Red Cross and other groups, including Hezbollah’s paramedic service and the Lebanese Civil Defense, were involved in recovery operations. This strike is part of a series of intense Israeli bombings targeting Hezbollah locations in Lebanon, which have also responded with rocket fire into Israel.

The conflict has resulted in over 630 deaths on the Lebanese side, including a significant number of women and children, as reported by local health officials. Meanwhile, in Israel, several have been injured by shrapnel. Lebanon, home to about 6 million people, is also host to nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees, plus hundreds of thousands unregistered, making it the country with the highest refugee population per capita worldwide.