Rescuers pulled 30 bodies from a building in central Lebanon damaged by an Israeli strike

BARJAH, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese rescuers pulled 30 bodies from the rubble after an overnight Israeli strike on a residential building in the town of Barjah, Lebanon’s Civil Defense said Wednesday. Wars in the Middle East continue with no signs of abating.

It remained unclear whether there were survivors or bodies in the rubble from Tuesday night’s airstrike, which came without warning. There were no statements from the Israeli military, and the intended target of the strike was also unknown.

Barkha, a town north of the port city of Sidon in central Lebanon, has not been regularly attacked in the conflict so far.

“Something hit me hard and then there was an explosion,” said Moussa Zahran, who was at home with his wife and son when the building collapsed. He said he couldn’t see anything, but began digging through the rubble until he found his wife and son – alive but wounded – and pulled them out. Both are still in the hospital, he said.

Another resident of the house, Muhyiddin Al-Qalaaji, said he was at work when the strike happened and heard the news from his wife, who called him in despair.

“Many are killed and injured,” he said as he carried out what he could salvage from the family’s belongings Wednesday morning.

Civil defense spokesman Mostafa Danai said some neighbors reported people were still missing.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have continued for more than a year since Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border shortly after a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip last October.

The war on the Lebanese front has escalated significantly since mid-September, when Israel launched a massive aerial bombardment and ground invasion.

On Wednesday, sirens sounded across northern and central Israel, including the densely populated metropolis of Tel Aviv, as Hezbollah launched 10 rockets towards Israel. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said there were no reports of casualties.

Most of the rocket crashed into a parked car in the central Israeli city of Ra’anana. Rockets also struck an open area near Israel’s main airport, Israeli media reported, although the airport said flights were operating as normal.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said there were no casualties. Israeli police said they arrested 40 people during protests on Tuesday evening when demonstrators blocked Israel’s main highway in Tel Aviv.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Defense Minister Yoav Gallant fired in a surprise announcement that sparked protests across the country. Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a longtime Netanyahu supporter and veteran cabinet minister.

Although Netanyahu called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant said military force had created the necessary conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal it could bring home hostages held by a militant group.

War between Israel and Hamas started after Palestinian militants invade Israel October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapped another 250 peopletaking them back to Gaza as hostages.

The Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials said. They do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out in 2023, at least 3,000 people were killed About 13,500 people were injured in Lebanon, about a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry.

Hezbollah continues to send dozens of missiles and drones towards Israel. According to Netanyahu’s office, the shells have killed 72 people in Israel so far, including 30 soldiers.

A report by the Lebanese Crisis Response Unit said that between September 23 and November 1, 361,300 Syrians and more than 177,800 Lebanese crossed the border into Syria to escape the fighting.

Another night of protests was planned across Israel on Wednesday evening over Gallant’s sacking.

Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly clashed over the war in Gaza, but the prime minister has avoided letting his rival go ahead of Tuesday’s US presidential election.

By Wednesday afternoon in the Middle East, Donald Trump was elected 47th President of the United States in a remarkable political comeback.

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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Melanie Liedman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.