On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed at least six people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, shaking the heart of the Lebanese capital as Israel intensifies its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.
While most Israeli strikes in the Beirut area have been in the southern suburbs, Israel has also launched several attacks in central areas of the capital since Lebanon was dragged into the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran on March 2nd.
Two Deadly Airstrikes
An airstrike around 1:30 a.m. destroyed several floors of an apartment block in Beirut’s Zuqaq al-Blat district, while a strike in the nearby Basta district wrecked two floors of a building.
This was followed by a more powerful strike at 5:30 a.m., where an entire building was destroyed in the Bachoura neighbourhood—an area close to downtown Beirut that was also a target of Israeli strikes last week.
Ahead of the Bachoura strikes, the Israeli military issued a warning on social media highlighting the building and stating its intention to act against what they claimed was a Hezbollah facility. No immediate reports of casualties have been released yet.
No warning was issued ahead of the Zuqaq al-Blat and Basta strikes, where the Lebanese health ministry announced six people had been killed and 24 injured. Both these strikes are near the headquarters of the Lebanese government.
900 People Reported Dead
More than 900 people have been reported killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since Hezbollah entered the war in support of Tehran. According to Lebanese authorities, over 1 million people have been displaced.
There have been no reported fatalities in Israel as a result of Hezbollah retaliation with rocket and drone attacks; however, the Israeli military has announced that two soldiers were killed in Southern Lebanon during their offensive.
Israel carried out more deadly strikes in eastern and southern areas of Lebanon, regions where Hezbollah’s influence is more prominent.
In eastern Lebanon’s Baalbeck city, four more people were killed in an airstrike. In the south, 10 people have been reported killed in three different locations, according to the state news agency, citing the health ministry.
(With inputs from Reuters)
