Its fierce airstrikes, firing five missiles at a central area in, shook the Lebanese capital as Israel seeks an irreparable blow against the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement.
4 dead, 23 injured in Beirut
At least four people were killed and 23 wounded in the attack in Beirut’s Basta district, Hezbollah’s Al Manar network reported, citing the country’s health ministry.
Lebanon’s national news agency (NNA in English, ANI in French) also reported early this morning that the attack caused a large number of deaths and injuries and destroyed an eight-story building. Footage aired by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed network shows at least one destroyed building and several others around it that were badly damaged.
⚡️ ⭕️: Al-Mayadeen correspondent:
The occupation launches an airstrike on a residential building in the Basta area in the capital, Beirut
⚡️⭕️ A violent raid targeted the “Al-Nuwairi” area in the Lebanese capital, Beirut
Multiple casualties reported,…
— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_)
Terrible massacre in the capital Beirut
“The capital Beirut woke up to a horrifying carnage as Israeli warplanes fired five rockets and completely destroyed an eight-story residential building on Maamoun Street in the Al-Basta district,” Lebanon’s national news agency reported.
The explosions rocked the Lebanese capital around 04:00 local time (and Greek time), according to eyewitnesses cited by Reuters. Sources in the security forces said that at least 4 bombs were dropped during the attack.
Rescue crews are struggling to remove the debris with the help of excavators, according to images broadcast by AFPTV. Rescuers cited by Lebanon’s national news agency said there was a “large number of dead and wounded”, without elaborating further at this time.
Fourth Israeli airstrike in Beirut this month
It is the fourth airstrike by Israeli forces this month targeting a central area of Beirut, where Israeli attacks mostly target the southern suburbs, which are under the control of Hezbollah. An Israeli airstrike last Sunday killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras Al Nabaa area of central Beirut.
Several senior Hezbollah figures have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israel launched a major military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September after nearly a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the Gaza war, pounding large swaths of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending ground forces into the country’s south.
The conflict erupted when Hezbollah opened a front with Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas, following the unprecedented deadly attack launched by the latter’s fighters on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel.
A US mediator traveled to Lebanon and Israel this week in an attempt to secure a ceasefire agreement. US envoy Amos Hoxtyn said progress had been made after meetings he held in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before flying to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Source: RES-MPE
