A major Israeli attack flattened a residential building in the center of the Lebanese capital Beirut. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 11 people were killed and more than 20 injured.
According to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), the eight-story building was completely destroyed without warning by five rockets in the capital’s densely populated Basta district.
The Israeli attack occurred at around 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Saturday with explosions rocking the city.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Emergency teams searched the site in Basta, where plumes of smoke rose from a giant crater. The Ministry of Health said work to remove rubble from the scene was still underway.
Local resident Nemir Zarariya said he and his family were sleeping when the attack began at dawn.
“We were sleeping soundly when the strike happened, then the second strike. We don’t understand what happened,” he said.
“There was dust and ruined houses, people running and screaming. My wife is in the hospital, my daughter is in the hospital, my aunt is also in the hospital.”
This was the fourth Israeli attack this week on central Beirut. On Monday, Iran-backed Hezbollah said its spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an air strike.
In recent months, Israeli attacks have killed several leading Hezbollah members in Beirut. including the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The attack in the early hours of Saturday was followed by others. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order for residents of southern Beirut, who they claimed were “close to Hezbollah facilities and interests”.
An hour later, fighter jets targeted several locations IDF said on X includes “an arsenal of weapons”.
The IDF began a major offensive against Hezbollah in September, carrying out air strikes and sending troops into southern Lebanon.
Hostilities escalated after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired multiple rounds of rockets into Israel in a show of solidarity with Hamas, the Palestinian group that carried out the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
Israel’s stated goal in the fight against Hezbollah is to allow the return of some 60,000 residents who have been displaced from communities in northern Israel because of the group’s attacks.
In Lebanon, the conflict has killed more than 3,500 people and forced more than a million to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities said.
Earlier this week, a US mediator visited both Israel and Lebanon in an effort to secure a ceasefire.
Amos Hochstein said some progress has been made – but has not commented publicly on any details.
