BEIRUT — The Israeli military carried out a large explosion in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Thursday, according to Middle East Eye.
Aita al-Shaab is located in Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate. The report described the incident as a “massive explosion” but provided no further information about the circumstances, the intended target or the extent of any damage in the village. It also did not give casualty figures specifically linked to the explosion.
The incident was reported as Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health issued updated casualty figures following the escalation of Israeli attacks on the country. According to the ministry, 4,386 people have been killed since the attacks intensified on 2 March. Another 12,407 people have been wounded over the same period.
The figures provided by the ministry represent the overall reported toll since 2 March and were not presented as casualties from the Aita al-Shaab explosion alone. No further breakdown of those killed or wounded was included in the information reported by Middle East Eye.
A photograph accompanying the report showed smoke rising from the site of what was described as an Israeli controlled explosion in al-Mansouri, another village in southern Lebanon. The image was taken from the nearby village of Hanniyeh. The supplied report did not specify when that explosion occurred or connect it directly to the incident reported in Aita al-Shaab.
No additional details were provided about military activity around Aita al-Shaab, the scale of the blast or the condition of residents. The account from Lebanon’s National News Agency and the casualty update from the Ministry of Public Health were the only official Lebanese reports cited.
Reporting attribution: based on reporting by Middle East Eye — original source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-conducts-massive-explosion-southern-lebanese-village-death-toll.