ISRAEL has carried out an air attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, sending huge plumes of smoke into the sky.
This is also as Israeli forces intensify attacks across the Gaza Stip, killing at least 50 Palestinians since dawn on Sunday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the air strike and called for France and the United States, guarantors of the November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, to compel Israel to halt its attacks. Israel has violated that truce multiple times in recent months and weeks with attacks on the capital and across southern Lebanon.
Aoun said Israel is undermining stability in Lebanon and escalating tensions, posing “real dangers to the security” of the region.
The Israeli military said the attack on Beirut destroyed “an infrastructure where precision missiles” were stored by Hezbollah. It did not provide proof for its claim. No secondary explosions were reported after the Israeli attack.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting in Beirut, said: “We were able a short while ago to reach the site that was targeted, but there was a lot of chaos, and we were told to leave.”
“The damage was widespread, also affecting nearby buildings. Windows were blown out, glass was on the floor, cars were damaged,” she added.
“This strike did come with a warning but without any provocation,” Khodr said. “This is not the first time that Beirut’s southern suburb has been hit since Israel and Hezbollah agreed to that ceasefire back in November, but this time, there was no rocket fire. So people here are concerned that Israel is rewriting the rules of engagement, saying that there are no red lines any longer and that this could be the beginning of an escalation.”
At least 52,243 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 117,639 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since it began 18 months ago. The Gaza Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
