A series of Israeli airstrikes raided Lebanon on Sunday, crushing down a multi-storey residential building in a densely packed Basta area in central Beirut, killing 29.
Recently, 12 Hezbollah command centers were struck down by the Israel air force in Daheih, Beirut as per the IDF. This included sites that were occupied by Hezbollah’s intelligence unit, coast-to-sea missile unit, and Unit 4400–responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran through Syria into Lebanon.
The IDF informed that these command centers were used to plan, command, and execute terrorist attacks against Israel and monitor terrorist activity against IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon.
In the meantime, the Lebanese Ministry of Health also revised the death toll upward on Saturday from its initial number of 20 deaths. Rescue teams continued to work late into the weekend as the tragic aftermath of the airstrikes unfolded
The Beirut airstrike is one of several carried out across the country as Israel maintains its aggressive military campaign against Hezbollah, despite ongoing attempts to negotiate a ceasefire.
The IDF further confirmed that its strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs were aimed at Hezbollah positions.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for several buildings in the area to minimize civilian casualties, but those affected reported intense bombings.
The strike in Basta, along with others, marks an escalation in Israeli air raids on central Beirut, following a similar attack last Sunday that killed a Hezbollah spokesperson, as per CNN.
Besides Beirut, the Israeli airstrikes also struck Baalbek-Hermel region in eastern Lebanon, where at least 13 people, including four children, were killed in an attack on Shmistar. Additional airstrikes in nearby towns left at least 11 dead and 32 injured. In southern Lebanon, the city of Tyre was also targeted, with five people killed and 19 others injured in the Israeli bombardment.
These airstrikes have killed numerous Hezbollah commanders and targeted vital infrastructure, causing widespread devastation in southern Lebanon, since September. The toll of the conflict has been severe for Lebanon, with over 3,000 people killed and more than a million displaced, according to the United Nations.
