Over 29 Dead As Israeli Airstrikes Flatten Building In Lebanon, Targeting Senior Hezbollah Leader
The attack from Israel occurred at about 4 am on Saturday, and it was an attempt to kill a senior Hezbollah official.
A series of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon claimed dozens of lives, including 29 fatalities in a devastating attack that flattened a multi-story residential building in the densely populated Basta area of central Beirut.
The attack occurred at about 4 am on Saturday, and it was an attempt to kill a senior Hezbollah official, as per BBC.
As per CNN, Israel Defence Force (IDF) 12 Hezbollah command centres were struck by the Israel Air Force in Dahieh, Beirut. These included sites used by Hezbollah's Intelligence Unit, coast-to-sea missile unit, and Unit 4400-responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran through Syria into Lebanon. The IDF claimed that the command centres were utilised to plan, command and execute terrorist attacks against Israel and monitor terrorist activity against IDF soldiers operating in south Lebanon.
According to ANI, the Lebanese Military of Health on Sunday had initially reported 20 deaths and later revised it upwards. The rescue teams continued working late into the weekend as the aftermath of the Israeli airstrike became clear.
The airstrike in Beirut is one of several across as Israel intensifies its military campaign against Hezbollah amid ongoing efforts to establish a ceasefire. The IDF has confirmed that the strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut specifically targeted positions associated with Hezbollah.
The strike in Basta, among others, marks an escalation of Israeli air raids on central Beirut, following a similar airstrike last Sunday that killed a Hezbollah spokesperson, reported CNN. Around 66 people were injured in the strike, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
As per the report, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Israel said it had struck Hezbollah targets Saturday morning after issuing evacuation orders covering several buildings “to mitigate harm to civilians.” NNA later reported a “very strong airstrike” in the area.
As per the report, Israel conducted airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday morning.
According to the report, Israel conducted airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday morning. The Israeli military did not issue an evacuation order for the area ahead of the strikes, to reduce civilian harm. These strikes followed evacuation orders for several buildings to "mitigate harm to civilians."
A bunker buster bomb was used which is a type of weapon previously used by Israel to kill senior Hezbollah figures, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to BBC.
Ali Nassar, 55-year-old, said “It was a very horrible explosion. All the windows and glasses were over me, my wife and my children. My home now is a battlefield,” he lived in a nearby building.
“Even if one person is hiding here…Should you destroy buildings where people are sleeping inside? Is it necessary to kill all the people for one person? Or we’re not humans? That’s what I’m asking.”
Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the attack was an attempt to kill Mohammed Haydar, a top Hezbollah official, BBC reported. Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri said none of the group’s leaders were in the building hit, and Haydar’s fate remained unclear.
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