Intense Israeli bombardment of Beirut and surrounding areas overnight resulted in at least eleven fatalities and over thirty injuries, according to the Lebanese daily L’Orient-Le Jour. The strikes come as a response to rocket fire from the Hezbollah militant group targeting an Israeli military base.
The Israeli attack reportedly targeted the Ramlet al-Baida public beach in west Beirut, where people displaced by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah have been sheltering. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that eight people died at that location.
Further strikes hit the southern part of the Lebanese capital and its vicinity, resulting in three additional deaths, according to the ministry. This marks the third attack in central Beirut since the start of the conflict, following strikes on an apartment on Wednesday and a hotel near the sea on Sunday.
Hezbollah Claims Rocket Attack on Mossad Headquarters
Hezbollah announced Thursday morning that it had launched a barrage of rockets at the Glilot military base on the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv, which houses the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the 8200 military intelligence unit. Shortly before the announcement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated it had conducted a joint operation with Hezbollah against Israel. Israeli rescue services reported no information regarding casualties or injuries from the overnight attacks on Israeli territory.
The Israeli military, in turn, announced it had struck ten targets linked to the militant group in southern Beirut, including command centers, intelligence headquarters, and dozens of launch pads.
Lebanon was drawn further into the wider Middle East conflict on Monday after Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior Iranian spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. The Lebanese government condemned Hezbollah’s decision to attack Israel. Israel responded to the shelling with extensive retaliatory air strikes across various parts of Lebanon, and its army has since expanded its control over additional territory in southern Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening, following a conversation with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun, called on Israel to “clearly abandon a ground offensive in Lebanon” and on Hezbollah to “immediately cease its attacks.”
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that Israeli strikes in Lebanon have resulted in 634 deaths since March 2, including 91 children and women, and 1586 injuries. The ministry did not differentiate between combatants, and civilians. The fighting has also displaced 780,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities.
