ISTANBUL

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes targeting Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek and surrounding villages late Thursday rose to 28 with 23 others injured, state news agency NNA and the Health Ministry reported on Friday.

The strikes began with an attack on a home in the village of Buday, killing a man, his wife, and their two children.

Israeli forces launched further airstrikes on residential areas, particularly impacting the town of Makneh, where six members of a single family were killed and six others were wounded.

Airstrikes also struck the southern entrance of Baalbek, destroying a home, killing a woman, and injuring five others.

A nearby strike in the village of Douris resulted in extensive damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure, with three people sustaining minor injuries.

As many as 12 civilians were killed in a strike targeting a home in the village of Amhaz in the Baalbek district, eastern Lebanon.

Another two people were killed and four others injured after an airstrike hit a house in the village of Taraya in Baalbek.

Three people were killed and five others wounded in an airstrike targeting the town of Qmatiyeh in the Mount Lebanon province.

Overall, the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon since last October is nearly 2,900, with 13,000 others injured. Cross-border warfare between Israeli forces and Hezbollah started after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas incursion.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi