Lebanon's embattled east reels from deadly Israeli strikes

In a flash, Ali Kanaan lost his mother, sister-in-law, niece and two nephews when Israel pounded his home village in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley where 60 people were killed on Monday.

The Israeli strikes on 12 areas in the impoverished eastern region where Hezbollah holds sway were the most violent there since the Israel-Hezbollah war erupted late last month.

In the village of Al-Alaq, west of Baalbek city, Israeli raids killed 16 people, including Kanaan's relatives, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

"My mother, my brother's wife, my six-year-old nephew, my one-year-old niece, my seven-year-old nephew, and the girl who helps my mother in the house all died," Kanaan said.

"A massacre happened here," he told AFP, pointing at his mother's levelled house.

On Tuesday, cooking pots were visible beneath the rubble. A dust-covered carpet was strewn on the ground.

Kanaan said the strikes on Al-Alaq began shortly before 7:00 pm (1700 GMT).

A house at the entrance of the village was the first target, he said.

Kanaan's brothers rushed there to help in the rescue efforts. Then their own home was hit just 30 minutes later.

"It was a house filled with civilians, all women and children," he said, denying any links to Hezbollah.

- 'A disaster' -

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, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.

The Bekaa Valley neighbouring Syria has been one of the areas hardest hit.

Baalbek governor Bachir Khodr called Monday's raids the "most violent" on the area in more than a month of war.

Upwards of 30 strikes hit the region in less than 24 hours, Khodr told AFP, adding that women and children accounted for two thirds of the casualties.

The region of Baalbek, home to an ancient city by the same name, endured the most raids.

One strike on the outskirts of Baalbek city hit near a camp operated by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The health ministry said at least six people were killed in the strikes near the Gouraud Camp, which includes an old military barracks dating to the French mandate.

Many buildings there were flattened. Entire streets were covered in rubble and residents scoured the wreckage to salvage what they could from what was left of their homes.

"This is an old French barracks, where displaced people have been living since the seventies. There's nothing else in it," said Mohammad al-Rifai, whose home was damaged.

"What is happening in the country is a disaster. The people who were killed are innocent and have nothing to do with... Hezbollah."

- 'Erase history' -

Hours before the strikes on the Bekaa, Israeli aircraft attacked Tyre, the coastal city in southern Lebanon that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tyre, which was also heavily pounded by Israel last week, has been disfigured by the latest round of strikes.

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the city where Hezbollah-ally Amal holds sway.

Its once scenic seafront is now lined with flattened buildings, and chunks of rubble block some if its narrow and winding streets.

"Despite the massacres, we will prevail," reads a sign placed on top of one collapsed building.

Another sign, written in English, read: "Made in the United States," referring to US weapon sales to Israel.

Hassan Fakih's family-owned antique shop was heavily damaged in the strikes.

The shop opened more than 50 years ago in central Tyre, once a tourist hub.

"We did not expect the raids to take place in the heart of the tourist city. There's no justification for that," Fakih said, accusing Israel of seeking to "erase history".

Tyre's seafront, with its many cafes and restaurants, was heavily damaged.

Rabih Atwi who came to inspect a friend's restaurant called the street "the artery" of economic life in Tyre.

"There are no weapons or missiles here, only restaurants," he told AFP.

"Israel wants to... drag us back to the Stone Age, but we are steadfast, and we will rebuild," he said.