Israel Strikes Central Beirut, Killing Six Amid Escalating Conflict with Hezbollah
Early on Thursday, Israeli airstrikes targeted central Beirut, killing at least six people, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah reached new heights. The strike hit a building in the Bachoura district, close to Lebanon’s parliament, marking the closest Israeli attack to central Beirut in the ongoing conflict. Lebanese health officials confirmed the casualties, and additional reports suggested multiple injuries from the attack.
Israel’s military said the airstrike was a precise operation against Hezbollah-related targets, following the loss of eight Israeli soldiers in ground combat in southern Lebanon. In response, Hezbollah has engaged Israeli forces near the border, destroying three Israeli tanks. This marked the first major ground confrontation since Israeli troops entered Lebanon earlier in the week.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued issuing evacuation orders for Lebanese villages near the border, as Israeli air raids on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh also resumed. Three missiles targeted the area where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week.
The conflict is drawing increasing international concern. U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israel to respond proportionally, despite Iran’s massive missile strike on Israel earlier this week, which Israel said involved over 180 missiles. G7 leaders and China have called for diplomacy, urging the United Nations Security Council to intervene to de-escalate the situation. Meanwhile, Western nations are preparing contingency evacuation plans for citizens in Lebanon as the violence intensifies.
The death toll from almost a year of cross-border clashes has surpassed 1,900, with over 9,000 wounded, according to Lebanese officials. The conflict has displaced around 1.2 million people within Lebanon.
