Israel attacks Lebanon’s Baalbek city after evacuation order

Israel’s airstrike killed 19 people, including eight women, in and around the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, the country’s Health Ministry said.

The incident came after tens of thousands of residents were evacuated from the historic city in response to an evacuation order issued by the Israeli military.

Mayor Mustafa Arsher told the BBC that more than 20 strikes had been reported in the Baalbek region, five of which were in the city, which is home to the ancient Roman temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. .

The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah’s headquarters during an offensive in Baalbek in the east and Nabatiyeh in the south.

Lebanon’s state news agency said a diesel tank was also attacked in the neighboring town of Duris, and Shell said photos showed huge columns of black smoke rising into the air.

The attack came as Hezbollah’s new secretary-general said that under his leadership, Hezbollah would continue its war plans against Israel and would “not cry out” for a ceasefire.

Speaking a day after announcing his appointment, Naim Qassem said he would follow the policies of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

Qasem gave the speech at an undisclosed location amid reports that he had fled to Iran, Hezbollah’s main supporter.

After weeks of air offensives that devastated much of southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, Israeli forces appear to be expanding operations against Hezbollah in the country’s east – as the group has a strong presence and support. This is another area that has.

Baalbek is an important population center in the Bekaa Valley near the border with Syria. It is a largely rural area and one of the poorest areas in Lebanon.

Hezbollah developed some of the infrastructure and recruited fighters from there.

The region is also of strategic importance to Hezbollah, and is part of the route connecting it to allies in Syria and Iraq, and ultimately to Iran.

wednesday morning, The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for all of Baalbek and the nearby towns of Ain Bourdeh and Douris.“We will act strongly against Hezbollah’s interests,” he said.

Rula Zeaiter, program manager for the Democratic Assembly of Lebanese Women (RDFL), said the order caused panic among residents, including displaced families from other parts of the country.

“A few minutes after the eviction order was issued, the streets were filled with people picking up their belongings, locking their homes and closing their shops,” she told the charity ActionAid.

“We are scurrying like frightened rats, moving from place to place. Lebanon is becoming like Gaza, and the Israeli army is using the same tactics.”

Video posted online showed heavy traffic jams on main roads on the outskirts of the city.

Mustafa Alsher estimated that around 50,000 people were evacuated within two hours, but added that many others decided to remain “for various reasons.”

He said the first wave of Israeli military attacks on Wednesday afternoon hit villas and other residential buildings in Baalbek city center and suburbs.

“It is not clear what the Israelis are targeting,” he added. “But I can tell you that there are no ammunition depots or weapons caches in Baalbek.”

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Ras Al Ain Hills, Amshiki, Al Asira, Al Qayal streets and the northern and southern entrances to Baalbek were damaged. The airstrike also targeted Ain Bourdais and Duris, including diesel tanks located nearby, the paper said.

Shell said none of the attacks hit. Baalbek UNESCO World Heritage Sitewhich consists of the ruins of a Roman temple dating back to the 1st century AD, is one of the largest and best-preserved ruins in the world.

But he warned of what he called “Israel’s betrayal” and said Lebanese authorities “implore that international organizations stand firm to protect the Roman ruins of Baalbek.”

UNESCO warned in a post about X on Wednesday The article included a photo of the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek and said that world heritage sites across the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, were under threat.

“UNESCO reminds all parties of the obligation to respect and protect the integrity of these sites. They are the heritage of all humanity and should never be targeted.”

Several buildings were destroyed around Baalbek’s Gouraud Barracks, near Roman ruins, during an Israeli military offensive that killed more than 60 people across the Bekaa Valley on Monday night.

When asked by reporters in Washington about the Baalbek attack, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Israel should not threaten civilian lives or damage critical civilian infrastructure or cultural heritage sites. He said he asked for it.

He also said that US special envoys for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein and Brett McGuirk, were “visiting Israel to address issues such as a diplomatic solution in Lebanon and how to end the conflict in Gaza. ” he admitted.

Two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the US mediator had agreed to a proposed 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that would be used to finalize the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. They say they are working on it.

The resolution included calls for an end to Lebanon’s last war, fought in 2006, and for the release of all armed personnel and weapons from south Lebanon, except for the Lebanese state and UN peacekeeping forces.

Israel has launched an offensive against Hezbollah, which it bans as a terrorist organization, after nearly a year of cross-border fighting stemming from the Gaza war.

Hezbollah on October 7, 2023, the day after a deadly attack on Israel by its ally Hamas, tens of thousands of residents of Israel’s northern border areas were displaced by rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah in support of Palestinians. He said he wants to ensure the safe return of the people.

Since then, more than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 2,100 in the past five weeks, and 1.2 million others have been displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli authorities said more than 60 people were killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.