International
22 Dead, 117 Injured As Israeli Air Strikes Hit Central Beirut
BBC reporters on the ground heard loud explosions coming from Bachoura, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood in the capital. Rescue workers were seen digging through rubble, while ambulances transported the injured to the American University Hospital.
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Security sources, quoted by media outlets, said the apparent target of the strikes, Wafiq Safa, a close ally of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, survived. Neither Hezbollah nor the Israeli military have commented on the attack.
The air strikes hit residential buildings in Bachoura’s densely populated Nweiri and Basta neighborhoods. This marks the third time Israel has bombed areas outside the southern suburb of Dahieh, which has been repeatedly targeted due to its Hezbollah connections.
The strikes came after two days of relative calm in Beirut, following a series of intense bombings in previous weeks. There was no warning ahead of the attack, and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have not issued any statements.
A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was in a neighbouring building when the explosions occurred. She reported that the struck building was entirely residential, around four or five stories high, and one of her relatives suffered head injuries.
The attack on Beirut coincided with a separate incident in southern Lebanon, where two Indonesian UN peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower, according to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil). The UN condemned the attack as a “grave violation of international law.”
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The peacekeepers, who were not seriously injured, remain in hospital. Unifil has reported multiple strikes on their positions in the past 24 hours, with Israeli forces allegedly targeting cameras and lights at other UN sites.
The UN also said that Israeli soldiers fired at a base in Naqoura, hitting the entrance to a bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering.
In response, Hezbollah claimed to have launched rockets and guided missiles at Israeli soldiers, destroying a tank and causing casualties.
As Israel’s ground operations against Hezbollah continue, there are now four divisions of Israeli soldiers fighting inside Lebanon.
Unifil, which has been operating in southern Lebanon since 1978, expressed deep concern over the escalating violence, with spokesperson Andrea Tenenti calling for discussions with Israeli authorities. Italy’s defence minister also condemned the attacks on UN positions as “intolerable” and called for decisive action to prevent further incidents.
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