Israel Launches Significant Air Strikes on Beirut Amid Escalating Tensions
In a major escalation, Israel conducted over a dozen air strikes on Beirut on Saturday, marking the most intensive assault the Lebanese capital has experienced in more than a week. Massive plumes of smoke rose over the city’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah maintains its primary stronghold.
Residents received urgent warnings from the Israeli military, allowing only a brief window of time to evacuate—some warnings were issued with as little as a few minutes’ notice. Initial assessments indicated extensive damage, including the complete destruction of at least one multi-storey building.
According to Israeli officials, the targeted strikes focused on Hezbollah’s weapons storage and its intelligence command center located in Dahieh.
Simultaneously, Hezbollah retaliated by launching rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa and surrounding areas, resulting in one fatality from shrapnel, as reported by Israeli emergency services.
Following a brief lull in violence, the sounds of air strikes once again reverberated through Beirut’s southern suburbs. Thick, dark smoke billowed from multiple neighborhoods, darkening the sky above.
Notably, two of the air strikes occurred near Beirut’s airport, which continues to accommodate scheduled civilian flights. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sent multiple evacuation alerts to residents across several districts within a single hour, further intensifying the atmosphere of fear and urgency.
Israeli operations extended beyond the capital, with reports highlighting the death of a couple attempting to flee from a suspected drone strike north of Beirut. Eyewitness accounts described the couple abandoning their vehicle to escape into the nearby underbrush, only to reportedly fall victim to a missile strike.
In another incident in the eastern Bekaa Valley, five individuals—among them a local mayor—were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a residential area, with several others sustaining injuries.
Israel’s military actions are part of an ongoing campaign against Hezbollah, which has been accused of launching over 100 rockets into Israeli territory from Lebanon. The recent airstrikes intensify a conflict that saw a significant uptick in hostilities after Hezbollah engaged Israeli positions in solidarity with Hamas, following Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.
U.S. President Joe Biden commented on the situation, expressing cautious optimism about potential ceasefire negotiations in Lebanon, while acknowledging the complexities involved, especially regarding Gaza.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in a catastrophic humanitarian toll. Since the outbreak of war in Gaza, which began in response to Hamas’s attack, there have been significant casualties: around 1,200 lives lost in Israel and an estimated 42,500 fatalities in Gaza, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry.
