Israel on Thursday bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday killing at least six people and injuring eight others, Lebanon officials stated.
These latest attacks follow Iran’s missile attack on Israel with the Israel Defence Forces stating that it was sending new ground forces into southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement today that soldiers backed by aircraft had “eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure through precision-guided munitions and close-range engagements” in several southern Lebanese areas.
A multi-storied block in the Bachoura locality of Beirut housed a Hezbollah-affiliated health centre, which Israel’s military said was hit in a “precision” attack.
This is the first Israeli strike into Beirut’s centre – merely metres away from Lebanon’s parliament. Five more air strikes were conducted last night which targeted the southern suburb of Dahiyeh in Beirut.
The strikes come after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that eight of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, its first losses since the start of ground operations against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
Earlier, the IDF announced that more infantry and armoured troops had joined the operation seeking to dismantle what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Lebanese border villages.
The IDF has been issuing warnings to people living near border areas of Lebanon that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the city.
According to Al Jazeera, all of these attacks are a part of ‘Operation Northern Arrow’ which is the military operation by Israel that involves ground forces supported by the air force and Israeli artillery.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, 46 people had been killed and 85 wounded in Israeli bombings in the last 24 hours.
Israel has gone on the offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah attacks.
Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that holds considerable power in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, the UK and other countries.
Iran on October 1 launched a two-wave ballistic missile attack in response to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week and following the July 31 assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The salvo of 180 projectiles caused no casualties as most missiles were intercepted, according to Israeli army reports. Iran claimed it was targeting three military bases in the Tel Aviv area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately pledged to retaliate and said Iran “made a big mistake and will pay”, as the US rallied behind its close ally.
“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” President Joe Biden said at the White House, adding that he was discussing a response to the attack.(ANI)
