ISRAELI forces have bombarded southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut, killing at least five medics and crumpling a multistorey building, as ground troops have clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli warplanes launched strikes on Friday on two buildings just inside Beirut’s southern suburbs.
A missile struck the middle of an 11-storey building housing shops, a gym and apartments located on a usually busy street in the heavily populated area.
The impact sparked a fireball and caused the structure to collapse on top of itself, littering the road with debris.
The NNA reported people fled an adjacent neighbourhood after Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee warned in a post on the social media platform X that the military would strike “Hezbollah facilities and interests” in Chiyah.
Evacuation orders also included the areas of Haret Hreik and Ghobeiry.
The NNA earlier on Friday reported several other Israeli strikes on south Beirut, adding: “Thick smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the Lebanese University” in the Hadath neighbourhood.
The Israeli military said in a statement its “fighter jets completed a new round of strikes” on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In eastern Beirut’s Baalbek, an Israeli strike killed the director general of Dar al-Amal University Hospital, Ali Allam. The attack in the town of Douris killed six other people, NNA said, citing the Health Ministry.
