Four killed in Israeli strike on Beirut neighborhood near government hospital

Israel said it planned to carry out more strikes in Lebanon against a Hezbollah-run financial institution

A child and three adults were killed and 24 others were wounded on Monday (October 21, 2024) in an Israeli strike near the Lebanese capital Beirut's main government hospital, the national health ministry said in a statement.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon has displaced more than 1.2 million people multiple times, according to Lebanese authorities. Israel says it aims to drive Hezbollah fighters from the border region so tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they were forced to flee over the past year due to Hezbollah cross-border fire in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.

More strikes are coming

Israel said late Monday (October 21, 2024) it planned to carry out more strikes in Lebanon against a Hezbollah-run financial institution that it targeted the night before and which it says uses customers’ deposits to finance attacks against Israel.

At least 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan were hit late Sunday (October 20, 2024) in the southern neighbourhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes, and there were no reports of casualties.

Associated Press journalists witnessed strikes late Monday (October 21, 2024) in the coastal region of Ouzai, near Beirut’s airport, and Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an airstrike near Beirut’s largest public hospital killed four, including a child, and wounded 24. It was the first strike on the Lebanese capital in 10 days.

Published - October 22, 2024 08:12 am IST