Lebanon said 60 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the eastern Bekaa Valley

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 60 people were killed in Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

Two children were among those killed in airstrikes that targeted 16 areas in the Baalbek region, officials said.

The ministry said 58 people were injured and rescue efforts were still underway in the valley, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

The Israeli army has not commented.

Israel has carried out thousands of airstrikes across Lebanon in the past five weeks, targeting what it believes are Hezbollah members, infrastructure and weapons.

Baalbek Governor Bachie Khodr called the attacks the “most violent” in the region since Israel escalated the conflict against Hezbollah last month.

Unverified video posted on social media showed damage to buildings and burning forests as rescuers searched for the injured.

In the town of Boudai, videos on social media appeared to show residents pleading for heavy equipment to be sent to help rescue people believed to be trapped.

The regional head of the Baalbek Civil Defense told the BBC the airstrikes resembled a “ring of fire”.

“It was a very violent night,” Bilal Raad said.

“It was like a ring of fire suddenly surrounded the area.”

He added that the attacks had targeted “residential areas where civilians live or are near them” and said a lack of equipment had hampered search and rescue efforts.

He said Al-Allaq town was the worst affected with 16 people killed, all from the same family.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli airstrikes on the coastal city of Tire killed seven people and injured 17, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Israel issued a warning to people to leave the city center.

Hezbollah said it clashed with Israeli troops near Lebanon’s southern border on Monday and fired rockets at a naval base inside Israel near Haifa.

The cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted after the Lebanese armed group began firing rockets into and around northern Israel in support of the Palestinians on October 8, 2023, one day after the deadly attack ally Hamas entered southern Israel.

More than 2,700 people have been killed and more than 12,400 injured in Lebanon since then, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon in a dramatic escalation on September 30 to destroy Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in “targeted, localized and limited attacks.”

The Lebanese government says up to 1.3 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict.