Israel renews airstrikes in Beirut’s suburbs as border clashes escalate

BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes launched intense bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs early Sunday, striking residential areas and igniting fires that continued to burn into the morning, reported Xinhua, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The raid targeted a building nestled between the neighbourhoods of Al-Laylaki and Al-Mrayjeh. Residents awoke to billowing smoke and flames, the aftermath of what local officials described as more than 30 separate strikes overnight.

Israel’s extensive attacks, which began on Sept 23, have now expanded beyond Hezbollah strongholds to include civilian infrastructure. A gas station on the old airport road and a medical supply warehouse were among the targets, with the latter strike causing a fire that set off explosions from stored oxygen cylinders.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, claimed the strikes were aimed at “Hezbollah’s combat equipment and terrorist structures in the Beirut area”. The Israeli military did not provide evidence to support these assertions.

As dawn broke, the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border renewed. Intense clashes erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli ground forces in border villages.

Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the confrontation began around 1 am local time (2200 GMT on Saturday), involving machine guns, artillery and rockets.

Hezbollah claimed to have repelled an Israeli infiltration attempt, inflicting casualties. By morning, Israeli forces had reportedly withdrawn behind the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, though artillery fire continued to shake the region.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours alone have killed 23 people and wounded 93 across various regions of the country.

Since Sept 23, the Israeli army has intensified its airstrikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon, resulting in significant civilian casualties and displacing residents from many areas. The airstrikes have also targeted and killed key Hezbollah leaders, including the group’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah. In addition, Israel has launched what it describes as a “limited” ground operation in Lebanon.

These escalations have exacerbated ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on Oct 8, 2023, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting retaliatory fire and airstrikes by Israel in southeastern Lebanon.

- Bernama, Xinhua