Israeli strikes hit building in northern Lebanon, killing 21 displaced people

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Israeli jets hit an apartment building in a Christian town in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding eight others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The targeted building had been rented by three families, consisting of 28 people, who fled the embattled southern Lebanon and sought refuge in the village of Aito in the northern Zghorta district. They were mostly elderly men and women, in addition to one child.

The Health Ministry said the strike flattened the building. More people were feared killed as the Ministry indicated that "DNA tests were being performed to identify remains collected on site."

Civil defense workers and army soldiers were still searching for possible missing visitors under the rubble, according to the LBCI television station. It was not clear why Israel targeted the building in Aito, where Hezbollah has no known presence.

In the past weeks, Israel hit several buildings and apartments in Beirut, its southern suburbs, as well as southern and eastern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah and Palestinian military commanders and officials.

Suleiman Frangieh, the Christian leader of "Al Marada Movement" and supporter of Hezbollah's anti-Israel resistance, denounced the strike, saying that Lebanon was "being subjected to an annihilation war" led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The strike came a day after four Israeli soldiers were killed and 58 others were wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in northern Israel in the deadliest attack by the militant group since Israel started a ground invasion into southern Lebanon two weeks ago.