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September 27, 2024 – 11:22 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) Israel announced Friday that it had carried out an airstrike on Hezbollah’s “headquarters” in Beirut, which left at least two people dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged before the UN to continue to strike the pro-Iranian armed movement.
Shortly after the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, the Israeli army announced a “precise strike” on Hezbollah’s “headquarters” in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. Particularly violent, the raid on a densely populated neighborhood left two dead and 76 injured, according to an initial report from the Ministry of Health.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, targeted by this strike according to several Israeli television channels, “is doing well”, a source close to the Lebanese Islamist movement assured AFP.
Thick columns of smoke
According to the same source, six buildings were completely destroyed in the area, raised, according to a video obtained by AFP, by huge explosions which caused thick columns of smoke. An AFP photographer reported scenes of panic among residents fleeing the area.
At the start of the evening, rescuers searched for possible survivors in piles of smoking rubble, excavated by excavators, at the foot of residential buildings.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced a “genocidal war” led by Israel. The UN expressed its “deep concern” and Washington, Israel’s unconditional ally, claimed not to have been informed of this strike.
It constitutes an “escalation” which “changes the rules of the game”, declared the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, threatening the perpetrators of this “massacre” with “just punishment”.
More than 700 dead in Lebanon
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no other choice,” Mr. Netanyahu had recently affirmed, on the fifth day of the deadly airstrikes carried out by his army against the Lebanese formation, which fired rockets again towards Israeli territory.
These operations will continue “until all our objectives are achieved,” added Mr. Netanyahu, before the UN General Assembly, in a speech boycotted by several delegations. It thus dashed hopes of a temporary 21-day truce proposed on Wednesday by France and the United States joined by many Western and Arab countries.
Since Monday, massive Israeli bombings aimed at weakening Hezbollah have left more than 700 dead, mostly civilians according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The Israeli army also said it was preparing for a possible ground incursion against Hezbollah, which would be “as short” as possible, an Israeli security official assured Friday.
Hezbollah vowed to continue its attacks “until the end of the aggression in Gaza.”
“Scary rhythm”
More than 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in almost a year, according to Beirut, more than the 1,200 deaths in 33 days of war between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist group in 2006.
Unicef has expressed alarm at the “scary rate” at which children are being killed, as well as the damage to civilian installations such as pumping stations.
Hezbollah claimed to have continued its rocket attacks against Israel on Friday, targeting in particular the Bay of Haifa – the large northern city – which is home to many defense industries.
Israeli bombings have thrown 118,000 people onto the roads in Lebanon this week, according to the UN. In Tripoli, in the north, “all the residents opened their homes, centers and institutions to welcome” the displaced, says Jenan Mobayed, an NGO volunteer.
“Devastating war”
This escalation threatens the region with a “total” and “devastating” war, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned again on Thursday, echoing many other leaders.
Israel, which has moved the center of gravity of the war from the Gaza Strip in the south to the border with Lebanon in the north, claims to be acting to allow the return of tens of thousands of residents who fled its bombardment. rockets.
In Gaza, “we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory” if Hamas does not lay down its arms and release all the hostages, Mr. Netanyahu also insisted from the UN podium.
Israel is continuing its offensive there, launched on October 7, 2023, which has so far left 41,534 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN, and caused a humanitarian disaster.
