Nine people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Beirut
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An Israeli airstrike killed nine people at a Hizbollah-linked medical facility in central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, according to Lebanese health officials, during the deepest attack on the capital since fighting began.
The attack occurred near the Lebanese parliament building in a densely populated area far from the capital’s southern suburbs, where Israel has repeatedly attacked over the past two weeks.
Lebanese authorities said on Thursday that the death toll had risen to nine, including at least seven employees at the medical facility, two of whom were medical staff. They added that 14 people were injured.
The Israeli military said it carried out a “precision strike” but did not reveal the target. Several airstrikes were also reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel has stepped up attacks against Iran-backed Hizbollah in recent days, as the region prepares to retaliate for an Iranian missile attack on Tuesday that raised fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.
Iran said the missile attack on Israel was in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week and the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
The US says Israel has the right to respond, although US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that any retaliation must be “proportionate” and that he opposes attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities .
Israel has also deployed one ground attack into southern Lebanon. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said eight soldiers were killed and several wounded in clashes with Hizbollah militants inside Lebanon.
In recent weeks, the IDF has launched frequent, devastating attacks on the densely populated Dahiyeh suburb in south Beirut, where Hizbollah has a large presence.
It has previously targeted only one location within the city limits in the current conflict, killing three Palestinian militant group leaders in the early hours of Monday in an apparent drone strike The driver destroyed one floor of an apartment building.
On Wednesday, Syrian state media said air defense forces had intercepted “hostile targets. . . in the skies above the western countryside of Damascus.”
According to Lebanese authorities, Israel’s bombing campaign against what it believes to be Hizbollah targets across Lebanon has killed more than 1,000 people in the country in the past two weeks. They said 46 people were killed and 85 injured in the past 24 hours.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, a large explosion was heard in Beirut, with footage from the scene showing smoke rising into the nighttime sky. Footage from Lebanese news agencies showed the explosion also damaged a cemetery.
“Another sleepless night in Beirut. Count the explosions that shook the city. There are no sirens. Don’t know what’s next. There’s just that uncertainty that lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are everywhere,” said Jeanine Hennis, the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon.
The Lebanese National News Agency said 17 Israeli bombing attacks took place in residential areas in south Beirut.
In addition to its military operations, Hizbollah also has a political party and an extensive social service network that operates in parallel with state organizations. These include schools, social welfare organizations and health care facilities as was the case on Thursday.
Separately, the Israeli military said on Thursday it killed the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, Rawhi Mushtaha, in an attack three months ago.
Additional reporting by Ahmed Al Omran in Jeddah and Malaika Tapper in London
