Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek kill 19, displacing 1.2 million in Lebanon; Israel targets Hezbollah sites, escalating conflict.

Israeli airstrikes pounded the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry and state-run news agency. Hours earlier, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for residents in the entire city — including its ancient Roman temple complex inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Israel said it was targeting sites connected to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 12,900 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.The death toll from more than a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has passed 43,000, Palestinian officials reported Monday, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The began after Hamas-led militants…

Tens of thousands flee as the Israeli military says it struck fuel depots belonging to Hezbollah.

Israel’s military warned civilians to leave Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley via three routes. The city had largely been spared Israeli bombardment until this week.

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