Israel launches heavy air raids on south Beirut

Israel conducted a series of heavy air strikes targeting the southern suburb of Beirut. Thick plumes of smoke covered the sky over the area, and the sounds of massive explosions were heard across the capital and its suburbs, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

Lebanon has been subjected to widespread Israeli assaults targeting various provinces and regions, particularly towns and villages in southern Lebanon. These attacks have resulted in nearly 3,000 people being killed or injured, prompting a large wave of displacement among residents from the targeted areas.

The strikes, heard across the Mediterranean city, sent huge clouds of smoke soaring above its densely populated southern suburbs.

Hezbollah has been fighting Israeli troops along the Lebanon border since Israel’s aggression against Gaza on October 7.

Israel shifted its focus from the war in Gaza to Lebanon this week, unleashing air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country.
WhileFriday’s strikes on south Beirut were not this week’s first, they were by far the fiercest.

Israel is defying calls from world leaders and aid agencies to halt the violence.

A source close to Hezbollah said the strikes levelled six buildings, and according to a preliminary toll, two people were killed and 76 wounded.
The bombing came moments after Netanyahu concluded his address to UN General Assembly delegates in New York.

Earlier Friday, Hezbollah fired rockets into the northern Israeli city of Tiberias, saying it was responding to “savage” strikes on Lebanese towns and villages.

The UN has repeatedly condemned the sharp escalation of violence between Israel and Lebanon.

“We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning,” the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, said.

Diplomats have said efforts to end the war in Gaza were key to halting the fighting in Lebanon and bringing the region back from the brink of all-out war.

But despite months of mediation efforts, a Gaza ceasefire remains elusive.