On Thursday evening, Israeli airstrikes struck central Beirut, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens more, according to the media reports. Notably, the assault left two neighborhoods in flames and intensified Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group operating in Lebanon.
The strikes occurred to target two residential buildings in separate areas of western Beirut. One multi-story building was completely destroyed, while another had its lower floors obliterated. The Israeli airstrike also targeted at least one senior Hezbollah member in the Labanese capital. Wafiq Safa, who is Hezbollah’s Liason and Coordination Unit chief, was thought to be the target of one of the strikes, according to the media reports. The Israeli military said it was probing the reported strikes in the Lebanese capital.
Israeli air raids have been concentrated in Beirut’s populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has its bases. Thursday’s strikes came amid escalating violence following a year of clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, which recently erupted into full-scale warfare. Israel has launched a series of heavy strikes across Lebanon and started a ground invasion, while Hezbollah has extended its rocket attacks deeper into Israel.
On the same day, the airstrikes occurred that Israeli forces opened fire on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, wounding two. The attack was widely condemned, prompting Italy’s defense ministry to summon Israel’s ambassador in protest.
Before the latest Beirut strikes, Lebanon’s crisis response unit stated Israeli attacks over the past day had killed 28 people, bringing the total to 2,169 killed in Lebanon since the war occurred last October. Hezbollah attacks have killed 28 civilians in northern Israel since the war began, as well as 39 Israeli soldiers, including both in northern Israel since last October and in southern Lebanon since Israel’s ground invasion that has displaced 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
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