Lebanese Civil Defense says it has removed 30 bodies from the rubble of a building Israel struck the night before. The search continued Wednesday and it was unclear how many survivors or bodies were still trapped under the rubble.

Tuesday night’s airstrike occurred without warning. The Israeli military made no statement on the strike and the intended target was not immediately clear.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a surprise announcement that sparked protests across the country. Gallant’s replacement is Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran minister.

While Netanyahu called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant said the military force created the conditions for at least a temporary diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the militant group.

The war between Israel and Hamas began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others. The Israeli military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say that more than half of those killed were women and children.

Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023, at least 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,500 injured in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported. A report from the Lebanese Crisis Response Unit indicates that 361,300 Syrians and more than 177,800 Lebanese entered Syria between September 23 and November 1.

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30 bodies are extracted from the rubble of a Lebanese building hit by Israel

BEIRUT — Lebanese Civil Defense announced Wednesday that it had removed 30 bodies and remains from the rubble of an apartment building in the town of Barja that Israel struck the previous night. Research efforts continued.

Tuesday’s airstrike hit an area that had not been regularly targeted by Israeli military operations. It happened without warning. The Israeli military made no statement on the strike and the intended target was not immediately clear.

Civil defense official Mostafa Danaj said it was unclear how many survivors or bodies were still trapped under the rubble.

“We hope there is no one else there, but the neighbors said there are still people (missing),” he said.

Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group have clashed for more than a year, since Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on October 8, 2023 – a day after the deadly Hamas-led incursion in southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza. The war on the Lebanese front has intensified significantly since mid-September, with Israel launching a massive aerial bombardment of much of Lebanon and a ground invasion.

More than 3,000 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the vast majority of them since September 23. Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah militants and weapons caches, but hundreds of civilians were also killed.