Dozens of Lebanese killed in Barja strike are laid to rest

Dozens of Lebanese were laid to rest Thursday following an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment building in the town of Barja, just north of the port city of Sidon.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said they pulled at least 30 bodies and remains following late Tuesday's strike.

Among the killed were many members of the Basma family, who had fled deeper into southern Lebanon for safety. Family members who survived found shelter elsewhere or weren’t in the building at the time.

“My sister was killed last week, and now my brother, my nephew, and my other nephew with members of his family,” said Hassan Basma.

Nearby, Khadija Daramsis, who washes the bodies of the dead before burial in accordance with Islamic tradition, found herself having to do the same for her nieces. She had just seen them last week.

“They told me they were scared of the strikes and then they were struck,” Daramsis said as she wept. “What did they have to do with anything? Are they resistance? Are they Hezbollah?”

Israel says its strikes target Hezbollah militants or the group’s assets. The strike in Barja came without warning.

Khalil Basma says the ongoing war and Israel’s military escalation is the worst he’s seen in Lebanon.

“Knowing the wars we have gone through, this is regretfully the first time we see such crimes,” he said. “May God protect everyone and end this crisis.”