Israeli airstrikes have killed 19 people, including eight women, near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, as reported by Lebanon’s health ministry. The attacks came shortly after tens of thousands of residents fled following evacuation orders issued by Israel’s military for Baalbek and two nearby towns.
Mayor Mustafa al-Shell told reporters that over 20 strikes were recorded on Wednesday afternoon in Baalbek, with five hitting the city directly, which houses a UNESCO-listed ancient Roman temple complex.
The Israeli military stated it targeted Hezbollah command-and-control centers and infrastructure in Baalbek and Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon. Additionally, it reported strikes on Hezbollah fuel depots in the Bekaa Valley, where Baalbek is located. Although it did not specify further, Lebanon’s state news agency noted diesel tanks were struck in the town of Douris, where Mayor Shell said photos showed a towering column of black smoke.
The strikes coincided with a speech by Hezbollah’s new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, who vowed to continue the organisation’s campaign against Israel, stating Hezbollah would not “cry out” for a ceasefire. Qassem, appointed after his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, spoke from an undisclosed location amid reports he may have fled to Iran, Hezbollah’s primary backer.
Israel’s military appears to be broadening its air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, following weeks of attacks concentrated in the south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Baalbek, a significant hub in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, is a largely rural area, economically disadvantaged, and key for Hezbollah due to its strategic position on a route connecting the group to allies in Syria, Iraq, and ultimately, Iran.
On Wednesday morning, Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for Baalbek and the neighboring towns of Ain Bourday and Douris, announcing its intention to “act forcefully against Hezbollah interests.”
According to Roula Zeaiter, program manager for the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL), the orders caused widespread panic, especially among families already displaced from other regions.
“Minutes after the order to leave came, the streets were filled with people grabbing their things, locking their homes, and closing their shops,” she told ActionAid. “We’re scrambling like scared mice, moving from place to place. Lebanon is becoming like Gaza, with Israeli forces using the same tactics.”
Videos shared online depicted severe traffic congestion on roads leading out of the city. Mayor Shell estimated that approximately 50,000 people fled within two hours, though he noted some residents remained “for various reasons.”
He reported that the initial Israeli strikes on Wednesday afternoon struck residential buildings in Baalbek’s center and on its outskirts.
“It’s not clear what the Israelis have targeted,” he said. “But I can tell you that there are no ammunition dumps or weapons caches in Baalbek.” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) indicated that strikes also hit the Ras al-Ain Hills, Amshki, al-Asira, al-Kayyal Road areas, and Baalbek’s northern and southern entrances, as well as Ain Bourday and Douris, including diesel tanks nearby.
The Lebanese health ministry later confirmed 11 fatalities, including three women, in a strike on Salibi Farm in Baalbek, with eight others, including five women, killed in a strike on Bednayel. Separately, it reported that 11 more were killed in the southern Bekaa Valley town of Sohmor.
Following the strikes on Baalbek, Israel’s military said it conducted
“intelligence-based strikes on fuel depots located inside military compounds belonging to Hezbollah’s Logistical Reinforcement Unit 4400 in the Bekaa Valley,” which it claims is responsible for transferring weapons from Iran.
A further statement indicated that aircraft had “struck command-and-control centers and terrorist infrastructure” in the Baalbek area and accused Hezbollah of using civilian areas for military activities, an allegation the group has previously denied.
Mayor Shell confirmed that none of the strikes impacted Baalbek’s UNESCO World Heritage site, which includes Roman temple ruins from the 1st century AD, noted as some of the best-preserved globally. However, he expressed concern over “Israeli treachery” and urged international bodies to defend Baalbek’s Roman ruins.
UNESCO warned on Wednesday via X, sharing a photo of Baalbek’s Temple of Jupiter, that World Heritage sites across the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, were in danger.
“UNESCO recalls to all parties their obligation to respect and protect the integrity of these sites. They are the heritage of all humanity and should never be targeted,” the statement read.
On Monday night, several buildings were levelled around the Gouraud Barracks area of Baalbek, near the Roman ruins, during Israeli strikes that killed more than 60 people across the Bekaa Valley.
When asked by reporters in Washington about the Baalbek strikes, US state department spokesman Matthew Miller called on Israel not to threaten the lives of civilians or damage critical civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage.
He also confirmed that US Middle East envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk were “traveling to Israel to engage on issues including a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, as well as how we get to an end to the conflict in Gaza”.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najob Mikati, expressed optimism that a ceasefire might be possible in “the coming hours or days”.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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