Children, including 2-year-old, among 8 killed in airstrikes on Lebanese villages

Children are among eight people killed in villages across southern Lebanon, as Israel intensifies airstrikes in its fight against Hizbollah.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, a strike on Baysarieh, a village in Sidon province, killed three people, including a 2-year-old and a 16-year-old, while another strike in the Bekaa Valley killed five more people.

It comes as Israeli forces faced international condemnation for an attack on UN peacekeepers operating in the region.

A Downing Street spokesperson said it was vital peacekeepers were protected and called for an immediate ceasefire across the Middle East.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Thursday, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers.

The force said its headquarters was affected by further explosions on Friday which injured two more peacekeepers.

“We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected,” a No 10 spokesperson said.

At least 22 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when Israel launched fresh airstrikes on central Beirut on Thursday evening.

The Independent