Five dead after Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut near government buildings

An Israeli airstrike hit a densely populated residential area in Lebanon’s capital near key government and diplomatic buildings late Monday, killing at least five people as the US pressed ahead with ceasefire efforts.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood – where local UN headquarters and Lebanon’s parliament and prime minister’s office are located.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strike, which also wounded 24 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to severely weaken the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and end its barrages in Israel that the militants have said are in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.

The US has been working on a ceasefire proposal that would remove Israeli ground forces from Lebanon and push Hezbollah forces far from the Israeli border.

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants, is expected to meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday. The White House has not confirmed Mr Hochstein’s visit.

Labour minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Mr Berri on Monday, said Lebanon would convey its “positive position” to the latest US proposal.

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, have become a refuge for many of the roughly one million people displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The target of the airstrike remained unclear, and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning. Ambulance sirens echoed through the streets as an Associated Press photographer on the scene saw significant casualties on the street.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause.

On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman. Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias.

The Israeli military has not said what the target of that strike was.

Minutes after Monday’s strike, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a post on X, “All countries and decision-makers are required to end the bloody and destructive Israeli aggression on Lebanon and implement international resolutions, most notably Resolution 1701.”

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, ended a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah and was intended to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. However, the resolution’s full implementation has faced challenges from both sides.

The resolution is again on the table as part of an American proposal for a ceasefire deal, aiming to end 13 months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli ground forces, who invaded southern Lebanon on October 1, would fully withdraw from Lebanon, where the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping force Unifil would be the exclusive armed presence south of Lebanon’s Litani River.

Hezbollah would withdraw from the area.

Also on Monday, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles against Israel. A rocket that hit the northern Israeli city of Shfaram killed one woman and injured 10, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.

More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire — 80% of them in the past eight weeks — according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

In Israel, 77 people, including 31 soldiers, have been killed by Hezbollah projectiles, while more than 50 soldiers have been killed in the Israeli ground offensive.

Israel has said it is targeting Hezbollah in order to ensure that thousands of Israelis can return to their homes near the border.

Published: 18/11/2024 by Radio NewsHub