Dozens Killed as Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanon, Health Ministry Says

The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck dozens of sites overnight in the north and south of Lebanon, part of its widening offensive against Hezbollah, a bombardment that Lebanese officials said had killed dozens of people.

Israel’s campaign initially focused on southern Lebanon, where it said it sought to cripple Hezbollah’s ability to fire rockets across the border into Israel. But the military operations have expanded in recent weeks to include cities and towns across the country, including some far from that border.

The Israeli military said that Hezbollah had launched more than 40 “projectiles” across the border on Thursday. It said one Israeli soldier was killed in a battle in northern Lebanon, where Israel has ramped up military operations over the last week.

Israeli strikes in and around the ancient city of Baalbek, in northeastern Lebanon, and in other parts of the country, killed 52 people on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said. It was not clear how many were affiliated with Hezbollah.

Israel’s military said it had struck 20 sites in the area of Baalbek. It did not mention Sidon, a city on the southern coast where Lebanon’s health ministry said that a strike on Thursday had killed at least three people. The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, also said that five of its peacekeepers were “lightly injured” by a drone strike near Sidon on Thursday.