Israeli airstrike in Lebanon kills 18

Israel expanded its targets in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 18 people in an airstrike on the Christian-majority town of Aitou in the north, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

So far the main focus of Israel's military operations in Lebanon has been in the south, the Bekaa Valley in the east and the suburbs of Beirut.

The strike in Aitou hit a house that had been rented to displaced families, Aitou mayor Joseph Trad told Reuters. In addition to the deaths, four people were injured, the Red Cross said.

In the south, Israel ordered residents of 25 villages to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km (35 miles) north of the Israeli frontier.

The Israeli military said it had killed Muhammad Kamel Naim, commander of the anti-tank missile unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, in a strike in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

Source: Reuters