Israel Strikes Heart of Beirut, kill At Least Six

Israel bombed Beirut early on Thursday, killing at least six people after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Israel said it had conducted a precise air strike on the Lebanese capital. Reuters witnesses reported hearing a massive blast, and a security source said it targeted a building in the district of Bachoura near parliament, the closest Israeli strike has come to the central downtown district of Beirut.

At least six people were killed, and seven wounded, Lebanese health officials said. A photo circulating on Lebanese WhatsApp groups, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a heavily damaged building with its first floor on fire.

“Another sleepless night in Beirut. Counting the blasts shaking the city. No warning sirens. Not knowing what’s next. Only that uncertainty lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are omnipresent,” U.N. special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said on X on Thursday.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called for serious ceasefire efforts to stop Israel’s “aggression” in Lebanon and said no peace was possible in the Middle East without the creation of a Palestinian state.

What is happening in the Middle East is a “collective genocide,” he said, adding that his country has always warned of Israel’s “impunity.”

Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud blasts were heard, Lebanese security officials said.

Major Blow
The elimination of Nasrallah dealt a major blow to the movement and removed Iran’s most powerful proxy in the Middle East.

Hezbollah and Iran’s other regional allies, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq, have launched attacks in the region in support of Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza.

The Houthis, who have been carrying out attacks in shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea that have disrupted international trade, said on Thursday they attacked Israel’s commercial capital Tel Aviv with drones.

“The operation achieved its goals successfully by the arrival of the drones without being detected or shot down by the enemy,” the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.

Israel said it intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the area of central Israel early on Thursday.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) urged residents of Lebanese villages who have evacuated their homes not to return until further notice.

“IDF raids are continuing,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X on Thursday.

Reuters/ Shakirat Sadiq