Israel launches air raid on southern Lebanon, killing 35

Israel Air Force (IAF) launched an air raid on a building in the south Lebanon village of Qana on Sunday morning, killing 35 civilians, 21 of them are children, Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on its website.

Dozens of others were feared to be trapped in the rubble of the four-story building, the report added.

The IAF launched airstrikes on some 40 targets across Lebanon overnight, accusing those targets of being used by Hezbollah as launch sites or hideouts.

However, the Lebanese media said that the targeted building in Qana was only used as a refuge sheltering dozens of local civilians.

The Lebanese medical teams rushed to the scene shortly after the airstrike and was trying to retrieve the bodies and the wounded trapped beneath the rubbles, according to the footage of pan-Arabic television channel al-Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) renewed its ground offensive in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning after it pulled out Bint Jbail, so-called headquarters of Hezbollah, and massed over border points on Saturday.

A fierce clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah militia on Sunday morning, as the IDF troops were advancing toward another south Lebanon village of Taibeh, said Ha'aretz.

Source: Xinhua