ISTANBUL 

At least 55 people were killed and 40 injured in Israeli airstrikes on eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday.

Six people, including four children and a woman, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Shmustar in the Baalbek district of eastern Lebanon early Saturday, it said in a statement.

A series of Israeli airstrikes on the town of Nabi Chit and nearby towns in Baalbek resulted in a death toll of 41, including three soldiers, along with 40 others injured, the Health Ministry reported separately.

Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit said Saturday that 112,525 displaced people are currently staying in shelters across the country due to the expanding Israeli attacks in the past five days.

The government unit said the displaced include 26,163 families, and 514 shelters have been opened in different regions of the country.

Clashes took place on the heights of the eastern mountain range along the Lebanese-Syrian border on the Nabi Chit–Hamm axis, aimed at repelling attempted Israeli landings, Lebanon’s National News Agency NNA said early Saturday.

Israeli forces attempted an airborne landing near the town of Nabi Chit in eastern Lebanon after four Apache helicopters dropped a commando unit in a rugged area between the towns of Khraibeh, Ma’araboun and Yahfoufa along the eastern mountain range, it said.

NNA said the unit advanced at night toward a cemetery in the eastern neighborhood of Nabi Chit, where it was detected by Hezbollah fighters and residents, triggering clashes involving light and medium weapons.

The agency said Israeli warplanes and helicopters then carried out around 40 airstrikes to cover the withdrawal of the force and prevent reinforcements from reaching the area.

Hezbollah also said in a statement that its fighters engaged the Israeli unit near the village cemetery after spotting the helicopter landing, adding that Israeli forces launched heavy airstrikes to secure the unit’s withdrawal.

The Israeli army later said its special forces had operated overnight in Lebanon to locate missing navigator Ron Arad. No Israeli soldiers were injured, it added.

The developments come amid Israel’s expanding military campaign in Lebanon since Monday, following limited rocket fire by Hezbollah amid broader regional tensions linked to the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran.

Israel has killed more than 4,000 victims and wounded 17,000 during an offensive in Lebanon that began in October 2023 and escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024.

Despite a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah since November 2024, Israel has continued near-daily violations that have left hundreds dead and wounded.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala and Tarek Chouiref