Search
Search

LEBANON WAR

More than 20 dead in Israeli strike on Zgharta

"The owner of the targeted house is affiliated with the Lebanese Forces, who are today betting on Israel's victory," accused Frangieh.

More than 20 dead in Israeli strike on Zgharta

Lebanese Red Cross rescuers carry a body found under the rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Aito in northern Lebanon on Oct. 14, 2024. (Credit: Fathi al-Masri/AFP)

The Israeli army struck the Zgharta region in the north on Monday for the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, killing at least 22 people.

Israeli fighter jets targeted, around 2 p.m., a house located on the highway connecting Zgharta to Ehden, near the town of Aito. According to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the region, 28 displaced persons from south Lebanon live in the targeted building.

The building, belonging to a member of the Alwane family, is a two-story building that was completely destroyed. The Lebanese army, from its barracks in Ehden, assisted the Red Cross and Civil Defense rescue teams in evacuating the wounded to hospitals in the region. The strike killed at least 21 people and injured eight others, according to a provisional report from the Ministry of Health.

Frangieh attacks the Lebanese Forces

Reacting to the strike, Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh said that "Zgharta is part of the country that is being subjected to a war of annihilation by the Israelis and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," during a television interview with al-Jadeed.

He also said that "the owner of the targeted house is affiliated with the Lebanese Forces, who are now betting on Israel's victory."

"We are watching over the safety of the displaced people who are heading towards our areas. They are Lebanese. The one who is killing our people is Netanyahu," he further denounced.

Read also

Berri to L’Orient-Le Jour: Resolution 1701, and nothing else

The Marada leader also stated that "what happened in Aito also happened in Deir Billa (Batroun), Maaysra (Kesrouan) and other villages, with the aim of creating a negative atmosphere and internal conflicts, which is very dangerous, especially for Christians," Frangieh said, in reference to the Israeli strikes that targeted these villages on Saturday.

"We do not put weapons in homes or among people. Our weapons are intended for personal protection," he continued. "We support the resistance. If we have to fight with it, it will be in the south."

Lebanese Forces rejects Marada accusations

Reacting to Frangieh's remarks, the Lebanese Forces rejected these accusations in a statement.

"The accusation by former MP Frangieh that the Lebanese Forces is betting on Israel's victory and the elimination of Hezbollah is a lie, a slander and is completely false," they said. "Anyone who is betting on Israel would not have insisted a year ago on a daily basis on the need to implement Resolution 1701, nor held a conference in this regard calling on the government to immediately send the army to the border to stop this war and prevent its expansion."

MP Michel Moawad said that it was not the town of Aito that was targeted but a member of Hezbollah who was with his family in the targeted building.

Lebanese Forces MP Ghayath Yazbeck addressed Batroun residents, stressing their “vital humanitarian duty to open their homes to those displaced by the war.”

He urged them, however, to inform local authorities of their intention to provide shelter, to host only families and to avoid hosting individuals who could expose their communities to Israeli attacks. Yazbeck stressed the need for security forces to enforce these protective measures and reminded residents that compassion for the displaced remains essential despite economic hardship.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.

The Israeli army struck the Zgharta region in the north on Monday for the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, killing at least 22 people.Israeli fighter jets targeted, around 2 p.m., a house located on the highway connecting Zgharta to Ehden, near the town of Aito. According to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the region, 28 displaced persons from south Lebanon...