Israeli drone attack targets Beirut
Israel’s military says it has carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut. Local reports on social media describe a massive explosion and smoke rising in the city’s southern Dahiyeh area.
Raid on Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb means major escalation
There has been an explosion in Beirut’s southern suburb, Dahiyeh, which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. This is a major escalation. We are getting reports this could be a targeted assassination.
It is not the first time that Beirut’s southern suburb is targeted, but images emerging from the scene show a building almost totally destroyed, so it is likely there will be civilian casualties.
Children among casualties in Beirut attack
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) is reporting that five children are among the victims of an attack on a building in the area of Jamous Street, southern Beirut.
The agency added that an F-35 jet targeted the residential area with two attacks.
Israeli military fires at Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon
In one of its latest update, Israel’s military claimed it struck a Hezbollah military site in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila. It launched the attack after spotting one of the group’s members entering the site, according to the military.
Additional air strikes targeted Hezbollah sites in the areas of Aitaroun, Meiss el-Jabal, Taybeh, Odaisseh and Yaroun, the military said.
We are in an all-out war
Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute, says the raid on Beirut’s southern district marks a “dangerous escalation” that takes the region closer to an all-out war.
“[The situation is] out of the rules of engagement that had been prevailing,” Nader told Al Jazeera, referring to the cross-border strikes between Israel and Lebanon targeting military objectives. “We’re not in a tit-for-tat, we’re in an open war.”
He added that “this is not an open war like in 2006 but unfortunately it’s getting there.”
Israel targeted the southern part of Beirut in June when it killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. The latest strike came as Hezbollah was retaliating for the recent blasts of communication devices used by the group.
