Lebanon says Israeli strike kills five near Sidon

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least five people were killed and another 33 injured on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a town near the main southern city of Sidon.

“An Israeli enemy strike on Haret Saida this evening killed five people and injured 33 others in a preliminary toll,” the ministry said in a statement – the second deadly strike on the town since Sunday.

Rescuers were still looking for survivors under the rubble, it added.

The strike hit a small building, causing significant damage, an AFP correspondent in Haret Saida said, with dozens of rescuers rushing to clear the rubble.

The targeted building was less than 500 meters from where the strike on Sunday hit, the correspondent said.

On Sunday, the health ministry said nine people were killed and 38 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the town, where an AFP correspondent said a building was targeted.

After nearly a year of cross-border fire with Hezbollah, Israel last month ramped up strikes on the group’s strongholds and then sent ground forces across the border.

The war has killed more than 1,700 people in Lebanon since September 23,though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.