Israeli airstrike on central Beirut leaves five dead – VIDEO

At least five people were killed and eight injured in an Israeli airstrike on a building in central Beirut, Lebanese officials said.

The multi-story building in Bachoura housed a Hezbollah-affiliated health center, which the Israeli military said was hit in a “precision attack,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

This is the first Israeli attack near the center of Beirut – just meters from the Lebanese Parliament. There were five more air strikes overnight against targets in the southern suburb of Dahieh.

#Beirut #Airstrike: The office of #AminSharia member of the #Hezbollah faction in the #Lebanese Parliament was attacked, local media claim

According to them, Shari was not in the building at the time of the airstrike and survived. pic.twitter.com/cQbANLyCOi

– News.Az (@news_az) October 3, 2024

This came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said eight soldiers had been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon. These are the first losses since ground operations began against the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said it had destroyed Israeli tanks during the fighting and insisted it had enough men and ammunition to push back the forces.

Previously, the IDF announced that additional infantry and armored troops had joined the operation, which aims to dismantle so-called “terrorist infrastructure” in Lebanese border villages.

In recent overnight strikes, three explosions were heard in Dahieh, a southern suburb of the city, with a fourth nearing the center.

There were two more airstrikes in Dahieh after the IDF warned people living nearby that they were allegedly targeting Hezbollah facilities in the area of ​​the city considered its stronghold.

Before the overnight airstrikes, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 46 people had been killed and 85 injured in Israeli bombings in the past 24 hours, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants.

It also emerged that among the victims of the recent Israeli air strikes on Lebanon was an American resident of the state of Michigan.

According to The Detroit News, Kamel Ahmad Jawad, 56, was in the country to care for his elderly mother.

His death was confirmed by a White House official, who said: “His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon.”

Lebanese authorities say Hezbollah is weakened after two weeks of Israeli attacks and other attacks that killed more than 1,200 people and displaced around 1.2 million across Lebanon.

After nearly a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, Israel has gone on the offensive, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah attacks.

News.Az