Israel carried out massive airstrikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, killing many people
Israel: According to local Lebanese media, Israel launched heavy airstrikes on downtown Beirut, the country’s capital, early Saturday morning, killing many people. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that five missiles entirely demolished an eight-story residential structure on Al-Mamoun Street in the Basta sector of the city.
According to a report in Al-Jazeera, which said that this was the fourth Israeli airstrike this week that targeted a key region of Beirut, videos posted on social media purportedly showed the ruins of the structure where missiles were launched at approximately 4am local time.
Over the last 24 hours, the city has been the target of many strikes by Israeli fighter planes.
Al-Jazeera said that an Israeli strike in the Basta neighborhood has left at least four confirmed dead and 23 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
Israeli combat jets “completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles” and left a crater on the ground, according to the National News Agency.
Regarding the alleged strikes, the Israeli military has not immediately commented.
This September, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved soldiers into southern Lebanon and conducted airstrikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah organization. This came after Hezbollah launched rocket assaults into Israel in support of Hamas, the organization responsible for the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
According to a Times of Israel story, there were rumors circulating on Hebrew news sites and social media that either top Hezbollah official Talal Hamiya or new Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem were the targets of a large Israeli attack in downtown Beirut this morning.
Following the death of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in a major Israeli bombing on Hezbollah’s subterranean headquarters in southern Beirut in September of this year, Qassem was named leader of the Iran-backed terror organization.
