Israeli strikes on central Beirut on Thursday night killed 11 people and wounded at least 48, Lebanon’s health ministry said, as a Lebanese security source said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks.
Reuters witnesses said at least one strike hit near a gas station. A large fire blazed in the background as rescue workers used torches to search the rubble for survivors, according to video broadcast by Hezbollah’s al-Manar television. The identity of the Hezbollah target was not clear.
The neighbourhood was not previously hit by Israel and is well removed from Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s headquarters repeatedly bombed by Israel.
A thick column of smoke rose above central Beirut after what appeared to be Israel’s latest major aerial attack in a widening offensive against the Hezbollah group.
There was no immediate comment on the incident by Israel, but its army issued a new evacuation warning on Thursday night for Beirut’s southern suburbs including specific buildings.
Earlier in the day, Israel warned Lebanese civilians not to return to homes in the south to avoid harm from fighting.
The UNIFIL force said two of its peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower 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, a UN source said.
“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” UNIFIL said in a statement, adding it was following up with the Israeli military.
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. Hezbollah said it had fired a missile salvo at Israeli forces on Thursday as they were trying to pull casualties out of the Ras al-Naqoura area, and they were directly hit.
Source: eNCA
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