30 die in Israel strikes on Lebanon

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least 30 people around the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, according to the regional governor, and at dusk more strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs.

Around 20 Israeli strikes on the Baalbek-Hermel governorate killed 30 people and wounded 35, governor Bachir Khodr said on X. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Israeli strikes have also battered Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut. At least four strikes targeted the area on Wednesday after the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate from several locations.

The attack happened shortly after Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem said he did not believe that “political action” would bring about an end to hostilities.

He said there could be a road to indirect negotiations if Israel stopped its attacks. "When the enemy decides to stop the aggression, there is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined - indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state and Speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri," said Qassem.

U.S. diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which included a 60-day ceasefire proposal, faltered last week ahead of the U.S. election in which former President Donald Trump recaptured the White House.

Lebanese rescuers scoured a destroyed apartment building in the town of Barja south of Beirut for bodies or any survivors after an Israeli strike on Tuesday evening that killed 20 people there, Lebanon's health ministry said.