Lebanon: 22 Killed In Israeli Airstrikes On Beirut, Hezbollah Leader Survives Assassination Bid

Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed 22 people and wounded 117. The strikes targeted a senior Hezbollah member who escaped.

he White House said the US was deeply concerned by reports that Israeli forces fired on UN positions (File Image: PTI)

Source : PTI

Israeli airstrikes shook previously untouched neighbourhoods in Beirut on Thursday evening, killing at least 22 people and wounding 117 others, according to Lebanon's health ministry. The Israeli attack targeted at least one senior Hezbollah member, who managed to reportedly elude the attack near central Beirut.

The strike came as troops continued to raid villages in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah targetted Israeli cities and towns in dozens of rocket attacks. The United Nations' peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said two of its personnel were injured in an Israeli attack on the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura. 

Hezbollah Leader Escapes Assassination Bid

Hezbollah’s Liason and Coordination Unit chief Wafiq Safa was thought to be the target of one of the Israeli strikes, but managed to elude the attack on a third-floor apartment near central Beirut, news agency Reuters reported quoting three security sources. 

A senior Hezbollah official reportedly eluded an Israeli assassination attempt on Thursday in Beirut. Wafiq Safa, who heads Iran-backed Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, was targeted by Israel on Thursday night but survived, the security sources said.

Israel has killed a series of high-ranking Hezbollah officials in recent weeks, including top leader Hassan Nasrallah. Safa was among the few surviving senior figures, whose role merges security and political affairs, as the group's upper echelons struggled to reorganise. Safa reportedly oversaw negotiations that led to a 2008 deal in which Hezbollah exchanged the bodies of Israeli soldiers captured in 2006 for Lebanese prisoners in Israel. The 2006 incident triggered a 34-day war with Israel.

The attempt to kill Safa marked a widening of Israel's targets among Hezbollah officials, which previously focused on the group’s military commanders and top leaders. 

Israeli Strikes Kill 22 People

The Israeli strikes hit a densely packed residential neighbourhood of apartment buildings and small shops in the heart of Beirut. The number of casualties rose quickly, and as per the Lebanese Health Ministry, 22 people were killed and 117 were wounded. Among the dead was a family of eight, including three children, who had evacuated from the south, according to a security source.

Israel had not previously struck the area, which is removed from Beirut's southern suburbs where Hezbollah's headquarters have been repeatedly bombed by Israel. Reportedly, Israel did not even issue evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes on Thursday, which were the deadliest attack on central Beirut since the beginning of the hostilities.

The Israeli military issued a new evacuation warning on Thursday night for Beirut's southern suburbs including specific buildings. Earlier in the day, Israel had reportedly warned Lebanese civilians not to return to homes in the south to avoid harm from fighting.

UN Says Its Peacekeepers In Southern Lebanon In Danger

The UNIFIL said two of its personnel were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower on Thursday at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing the peacekeepers to fall. There were no casualties in two other incidents, Reuters reported quoting a UN source.

The two peacekeepers were reportedly from Indonesia's contingent and were in good condition after being treated for light injuries, Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a statement.

The safety of more than 10,400 U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon is "increasingly in jeopardy" and operations have virtually halted since late September, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council. That coincides with Israel's escalation of its conflict with Lebanon. UNIFIL called attacks on peacekeepers "a grave violation of international humanitarian law."

The White House said the US was deeply concerned by reports that Israeli forces fired on UN positions and was pressing Israel for details. 

Meanwhile, Israel's military said in a statement its troops operated in the Naqoura area, "next to a UNIFIL base." "Accordingly, the IDF instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area," Israel's statement said, adding it maintains routine communication with UNIFIL.

The peacekeepers are determined to remain at their posts despite Israeli attacks and orders by Israel's military to leave, the force's spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.