Israel bombed central Beirut early Thursday, killing at least six people, dealing its forces the deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of conflict against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
Israel said it launched a precision airstrike on Beirut. Reuters witnesses reported hearing a large explosion, and a security source said it targeted a building close to the parliament in the Bachoura neighborhood of central Beirut, the closest Israeli attacks have come to the seat of Lebanon’s government.
Lebanese health officials said at least six people were killed and seven were injured. A photo circulating on Lebanese WhatsApp groups, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a heavily damaged building with the first floor on fire.
Lebanese security officials said three missiles also struck the southern suburb of Dahiyah, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard. More than a dozen Israeli strikes hit the southern suburbs on Wednesday.
A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel, Israel said on Wednesday that eight soldiers were killed in ground fighting in southern Lebanon as its forces crossed into its northern neighbor.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units joined its ground operations in Lebanon on Wednesday as Iran’s missile attacks and Israel’s promise of retaliation raised concerns that the oil-producing Middle East could be drawn into a wider conflict. .
Hezbollah said its fighters fought Israeli forces inside Lebanon. The movement reported ground clashes for the first time since Israeli forces crossed the border on Monday. Hezbollah said it destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with rockets near the border town of Maroun el Ras.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a condolence video: “We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran’s axis, which wants to destroy us.
“That won’t happen because we will stand together and with God’s help we will prevail together,” he said.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 46 people were killed in Israeli air strikes in the south and center of the country over the past 24 hours.
Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley – its biggest attack on Israel so far – had ended to prevent further provocations, but Israel and the United States promised a strong response.
US President Joe Biden said he would not support any Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to its ballistic missile attack and urged Israel to take “proportionate” action against its regional archenemy.
The White House said Biden joined a call on Wednesday with the Group of Seven powerful leaders to coordinate a response against Tehran, including new sanctions.
A statement said G7 leaders expressed “strong concern” over the Middle East crisis, but said a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one’s interests.
Hezbollah said it drove back Israeli forces near several border towns and also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.
Mohammed Afif, the paramilitary group’s media chief, said those fighting were only “the first round” and that Hezbollah had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push Israel back.
The inclusion of Israeli infantry and armored troops from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, and 6th Infantry Brigade, showed that the operation could expand beyond limited commando raids.
The army has said its incursions are mainly aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure along the border and have no plans for a broader operation targeting Lebanon’s capital Beirut in the north or major cities in the south.
1.2 million Lebanese displaced
Nevertheless, it issued new evacuation orders for about two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing residents to move north to the Awali River, about 60 km (37 mi) north of the Israeli border by the east. Flows towards the west.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon’s cross-border fighting in almost a year, according to Lebanese government figures, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks.
Acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati said about 1.2 million Lebanese had been displaced by Israeli attacks.
Sudan’s Malika Jouma was forced to seek refuge at St Joseph’s Church in Beirut after being forced from her home near Sidon in coastal south Lebanon with her husband and two children.
“It’s good that the church offered help. We were supposed to be living on the streets; where would we go?”
Iran described Tuesday’s missile attack as a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders including Nasrallah, attacks in Lebanon against the group and Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
The missile attack caused no casualties in Israel, but killed one person in the occupied West Bank.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
