Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon continue despite calls for ceasefire

Twenty three people — all Syrian refugees — were killed after an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building housing workers in the village of Younine, as tensions over an all-out war keep mounting despite international calls for a ceasefire.

The bodies of 23 Syrian citizens were pulled out from under the rubble, adding that another eight people were wounded in the same airstrike late Wednesday in the village of Younine, state-run National News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, IDF struck what it said was infrastructure used to “transfer weapons” on the Lebanon-Syria border Thursday, with media reporting Israeli jets targeted a bridge connecting the two countries. The extent of the strike or casualties were not known at the time of writing.

Israel’s military chief said Wednesday the IDF was preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon as Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office dashed hopes of a ceasefire on Thursday, after European and US-led calls for an immediate truce were voiced the day before.

“This is an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister did not even respond,” his office said in a statement.

Netanyahu’s office added that the Israeli military was continuing to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. “The prime minister instructed the IDF to continue the fighting with full force, and according to the plans presented to him,” the statement said.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who is the acting prime minister during Netanyahu’s trip abroad, said there will be no cease-fire in the north, vowing to continue the fighting in the north “with full force until victory” and returning the tens of thousands of Israeli citizens evacuated from their homes.

The United Nations says over 90,000 people have been displaced by five days of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, bringing the total to 200,000 people who have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it stormed into Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war.

Additional sources • AP