4 killed in Israeli strike on building in Beirut, 1st attack inside city limits
As Israel continued to strike Lebanon, the Health Ministry in Beirut claimed that at least 105 people were killed in the attacks in the past 24 hours.
by Ashraf Wani · India TodayIn Short
- First such attack by Israel in residential area in Beirut
- Three Palestine militant group leaders among four dead in strike
- Israeli drones carrying out attacks in Lebanon since Sunday evening
At least four people were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Lebanon's Beirut in the early hours of Monday. This is the first time since the escalation of the conflict that Israel has attacked a residential area in Beirut's Kola district.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian militant group, said that three of its leaders were killed in the Israeli strike in Kola district, news agency Reuters reported.
India Today TV's Ashraf Wani, the only Indian reporter on the ground in Lebanon, reported that Israeli drones were carrying out attacks in the suburbs of Beirut since Sunday evening.
Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom quoted the Israeli Army as saying that after attacking Beirut, they were carrying out strikes in the Bekaa region in Lebanon.
ISRAEL- HEZBOLLAH WAR- LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The Lebanese health ministry said that at least 105 people were killed around the country in the airstrikes on Sunday, Associated Press reported.
Two strikes near the southern city of Sidon killed at least 32 people, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel killed 21 people and injured at least 47 people.
Sirens could be heard in several cities in northern Israel, including Western Galilee and Haifa earlier on Sunday evening.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the sirens were triggered by a single missile launched from Lebanon, which was successfully intercepted by the air defence system.
The attempts to intercept the sirens and the fears of falling shrapnel triggered the sirens in several cities, the IDF was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
Israel also launched attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen earlier on Sunday, in which at least four people died.
Dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, power plants and a seaport at the Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports in Yemen were targeted in the airstrikes, according to a statement by the IDF.
Israeli forces have launched aerial assaults on the Iran-backed militias in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen.
The Israeli strikes on Houthis came after the group fired missiles and drones at Israel over the past two days in what they said is "solidarity with Palestinians".
The Houthis escalated attacks on Israel after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel killed Nasrallah in a 'precise airstrike' on September 27, while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, in the south of Beirut.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, six people were killed and over 90 were injured in the strikes, which levelled six apartments and shook buildings within a 30-kilometre radius.
More than 80 bombs were reportedly dropped by the IDF over a period of several minutes to kill Nasrallah.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a speech that he had "no option but the diplomatic option" to end Israel's aggression.
Israel's actions in Lebanon have intensified in the last two weeks, with Beirut confirming more than 1,000 deaths in the strikes.
The US has urged a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Lebanon. However, it also authorised its military to reinforce in the region.
US President Joe Biden, asked if an all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, said “It has to be." He said that he would be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters said.