Israel strikes Lebanon once again: 3 dead according to initial reports

An Israeli army spokesperson announced that a strike had been carried out on Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. According to the Reuters news agency, the army stated in a release on the matter that a 'targeted' strike had been conducted in Beirut. While Hezbollah's Al-Manar television reported that one person had died and 14 were injured according to initial findings, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that three people had died according to initial reports. Lebanon's official news agency, NNA, provided information that five children had died.

Images reflected in the press and on social media from the south of Beirut, where the strike took place, showed a dense cloud of smoke rising. Residents living in the south of the capital described hearing a loud explosion. In its report on the strike, Lebanon's official news agency NNA stated that an Israeli F-35 fighter jet carried out an airstrike with two missiles on an apartment building on Jamous Street in the city.

'DAHIYE DISTRICT IS A 'HEZBOLLAH STRONGHOLD'

Two security sources speaking to the Reuters news agency provided information that Israel's strike occurred near Hezbollah facilities located in the southern districts of Beirut. Al-Manar television also reported that the southern Dahiye district was targeted in the attack. Witnesses speaking to Reuters described hearing the sound of a fighter jet during the Israeli strike. The Dahiye district in Beirut is known as a 'Hezbollah stronghold'. 

According to two security sources speaking to Reuters, Israel's airstrike on Beirut targeted a 'senior Hezbollah figure'. The sources did not provide information on who was targeted. According to a report by Israeli army radio, a security source said that Hezbollah's operations commander Ibrahim Aqil was targeted in the Israeli strike. Ibrahim Aqil is on the US wanted list for his alleged involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut.

TARGETED BUILDING HIT WITH FOUR MISSILES

An AA correspondent in Beirut also reported that an airstrike was carried out on a location on Jamous Street in the city. While dense smoke was seen rising from the site of the strike, Lebanese medical teams and ambulances were dispatched to the area. Images of smoke rising from the Dahiye neighborhood in southern Beirut were also shared on social media.

Civil Defense and Red Cross workers, as well as medical personnel present at the site of the Israeli strike in the southern suburbs, asked residents in the area not to go to the strike zone, to clear the roads, not to gather, and to make room for rescue operations.

In the NNA report, it was stated that the building targeted near the Al-Qaim Complex was hit with four missiles, that many women and children were killed and injured due to the high population density in the building, and that it was determined that five children had lost their lives according to initial findings.

37 PEOPLE HAD DIED

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in a statement following the strike, said that the attack showed that Israel 'does not care about any humanitarian, legal, or moral considerations.' 

Israel's strike on Beirut came after explosions involving pagers and radios in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, which killed 37 people, including Hezbollah members. While Hezbollah and Lebanon held Israel responsible for these explosions, Tel Aviv did not directly claim responsibility for the attacks. Israel carried out airstrikes on southern Lebanon late last night; Hezbollah announced today that it had carried out seven separate rocket attacks on Israeli targets. Katyusha rockets were used in this attack.

News Source: 12punto