Israel Attacks Refugee Housing in Southern Lebanon, Many Wounded

Israel has continued to escalate its airstrikes against southern Lebanon this week, and while once again they’re presenting it as targeting “Hezbollah infrastructure” and weapons storage, the evidence once again is that overwhelmingly it is civilian targets that are being hit.

On the outskirts of the port city of Tyre, Israeli warplanes attacked and destroyed several temporary shelters that were housing refugees displaced by the war. Multiple wounded were reported there and in Houla, a border village that also saw its refugee housing attacked and destroyed.

Israel invaded Lebanon in September, and after the ceasefire in November, they continued to carry out attacks. Occupying forces also burned and demolished homes across southern Lebanon, leaving many people more or less permanently displaced. Now, it seems even the temporary shelters that were meant to housing them while they try to pick up the pieces are on the radar of the IDF.

Other attacks were reported in Tayr Harfa and Srifa, where Israel presented the existence of the attacked buildings as a ceasefire violation. They also attacked a waste disposal site in Majdal Selm, where Israeli attack helicopters were seen in the area.

The direct border sites are getting it worse though. In addition to the Houla refugee housing, Israeli artillery is reportedly continuing to fire on Ayta ash-Shaab, causing substantial damage to a village that was mostly destroyed by occupying Israeli troops before they withdrew.

Other Israeli airstrikes were reported farther to the east, along the Syria border. Once again, those strikes are also being presented as Hezbollah weapon storage facilities. There is little detail on what was actually hit there so far, but Israel claiming the target as Hezbollah increasingly seems pro forma, and almost never comes with actual evidence that is what they’re bombing.

The exact number of casualties from all the sites has yet to be confirmed, though so far no fatalities were reported, and just a substantial number of wounded civilians are being reported in the press.