Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service coming to you live from

London I'm As day Masheri. Coming up on the program we'll discuss the launch

of a NASA spacecraft on the hunt for signs of life and

we'll hear from our correspondent on the front line in eastern Ukraine as Russia

makes advances on a crucial transport hub. But first we start with the latest on the war in the Middle East and a rare Israeli

strike in the north of Lebanon. The Lebanese Red Cross says at least 21 people have been

killed in the village of Aitu. It's known as a Maronite Christian village,

with several churches and about a thousand residents. Israel is yet to comment.

George Katane is the Secretary General, the Lebanese Red Cross. I asked him to update us on what is known about the attack.

There's 21 casualties, dead bodies, March is 21, and there's two pieces of bodies, I'm not sure for DNA and check from the police and they would see later.

And nine injuries.

And we are continuing to check to see because the building is three four floors and we have a

USR team urban SOT team from the Red Cross and our ambulance

with civil defense working with us.

Tell us more about this region,

because it is extremely rare, isn't it,

for there to be a strike in the north? It's a touristic and peaceful region. Is it primarily Christian?

It's a Christian area majority. And when you say it's a peaceful area, it's a touristic region, right now, are there people who are

trying to escape the violence in the South?

Does it also have displaced people there?

Yeah, yes, you have displaced everywhere. You have more than 1.3 million displaced

who left the South, Beirut and the Beka.

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