People stand near a damaged building following an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood, Lebanon, Thursday. Lebanese officials reported that an Israeli airstrike on a building in central Beirut resulted in at least five deaths and eight injuries. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA-EFE
Israeli airstrikes overnight on Beirut’s central Bachoura neighborhood killed at least five people, according to Lebanese health officials.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said on X that the death toll had risen to five after three of the wounded succumbed to their injuries. Advertisement
At least eight others were injured in the attack.
The strike, according to local media, is the first time Israel has targeted the heart of the Lebanese capital since Israel began attacking Iran-backed Hezbollah in the neighboring country. Bachoura is close to the embassies of Belgium, Britain, India, Malaysia and Switzerland.
The announcement from the Lebanese health officials came hours after the Israel Defense Forces said on X it was “now targeting Beirut.”
Jeanine Hennis, the United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, said on X that it had been “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,” Hennis said.
The overnight attack overnight followed an earlier statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, which reported that 46 people were killed and another 85 wounded in Israeli strikes over Wednesday. Advertisement
Israel stated eight Israelis soldiers were killed and another five wounded in combat with Hezbollah fighters in two southern Lebanon border towns on the same day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sent his condolences to the families of his fallen soldiers in a recorded statement.
“We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. This will not happen — because we will stand together, and with God’s help — we will win together,” he said.
On Monday, the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will have been raging for a year. Lebanon-based Hezbollah, another Iran-backed militia, has been striking Israel throughout the conflict, and the two sides have been trading attacks, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis living near the Israel-Lebanese border.
For the last few week, Israel has been targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon as it has vowed to return its northern Israeli citizens to their homes.
