In Lebanon, multiple Israeli strikes on Beirut leave more than ten dead and around sixty injured

LEBANON – Multiple strikes hit Beirut overnight from Friday to Saturday, including a series at dawn completely destroying a residential building in the heart of the Lebanese capital, as the open war between Israel and Hezbollah enters its third month.

Rescuers are working this Saturday, November 23 in the morning to clear the rubble using excavators, as shown in the video at the top of the article. The rescuers cited by Ani reported a “large number of dead and injured”. According to a provisional report from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, which has already been revised upwards, the strikes left at least 11 dead and 63 injured.

Intense bombings on Beirut

“The capital Beirut woke up to a terrifying massacre, with Israeli aircraft completely destroying an eight-story residential building using five missiles on Maamoun Street in the Basta neighborhood”indicated the National Information Agency Ani.

AFP journalists across Beirut and surrounding areas heard at least three loud explosions, followed by a pungent smell, after a day of intense bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, in open war against Israel.

The strike damaged several nearby buildings and several ambulances rushed to the site of the targeted building, which turned into a pile of rubble, in this popular and densely populated district of Basta, according to AFPTV images.

A huge crater is visible on videos circulating on social networks, but which AFP was unable to verify.

During a speech on Wednesday, November 20, Hezbollah leader Naïm Qassem warned that his movement would target “the center of Tel Aviv”in Israel, in response to recent Israeli strikes on Beirut.

Earlier on Friday, as well as during the night from Friday to Saturday, Ani had already reported a series of Israeli strikes against the southern suburbs of the capital.

Several buildings were targeted, including two located on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, in the still densely populated Chiyah sector of Ghobeiry, which is home to several shopping centers, again after calls to evacuate.

3rd month of open Israel-Hezbollah war

In southern Lebanon, where Israel, in open war against Lebanese Hezbollah, has been carrying out land incursions since September 30, five rescuers affiliated with the pro-Iranian movement were killed, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

And in eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is also present, an Israeli strike killed the director of the Dar al-Amal hospital near Baalbeck, and six members of the nursing staff, in his residence located next to the health establishment, according to the ministry.

These strikes come as the WHO said on Friday that nearly 230 health workers had been killed in Lebanon since October 7, 2023, deploring “an extremely worrying figure”.

The Israeli army said it had “carried out a series of strikes on Hezbollah terrorist command centers” in the southern suburbs of Beirut. She added that she had touched “Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Tire region” (south), including “command centers” et “weapon storage facilities”.

For the first time on Friday, Israeli troops entered the village of Deir Mimas, about 2.5 kilometers from the border.

Israel says it wants to remove Hezbollah to allow the return of some 60,000 inhabitants of the north of the country displaced by the exchange of fire with the Lebanese movement. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of residents have also been displaced.

After a year of cross-border firefights, Israel entered open war against Hezbollah on September 23, launching an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon, where more than 3,640 people were killed, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health .

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