BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes Wednesday struck seven vehicles in Lebanon — three of them on the main highway just south of Beirut — killing 12 people including a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon, hours after telling residents of six southern villages to evacuate.Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of direct talks in Washington on Thursday as the Trump administration pushes for a breakthrough between the two neighbors that have been in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948.The United Nations has also accused Hezbollah of drone strikes near its peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, and Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to both sides is that they must observe the ceasefire and stop all attacks, U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
The Health Ministry confirmed the seven airstrikes on vehicles, but didn’t provide full details of the number of people in each vehicle. Two of Wednesday’s drone attacks hit a highway linking Beirut with the southern port city of Sidon, while a third struck the town of Saadiyat near the busy freeway, the state-run National news agency said. The Health Ministry said those strikes killed eight people in total, including the mother and children.
