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Death toll rises in Israeli strike on central Beirut
The latest figures we have from Lebanese health officials are at least 18 people killed and 92 injured.
What is clear is that these two areas that were targeted are not in the southern suburbs of Beirut. They are not Hezbollah strongholds. This is now in the heart of the Lebanese capital, where people have taken shelter over the past few weeks.
This is at least the third strike in areas in and around the centre of Beirut.
Flames and smoke rise at the scene of destroyed buildings
Scenes of chaos in central Beirut
A huge number of people were injured, well over 100, and they’ve been brought to nearby hospitals in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The hospitals have asked for no one to come and donate blood at the moment because they are already overwhelmed, so having more people come in to donate is just going to push them even further.
I was about a kilometre and a half (about 1 mile) away when the attack occurred. I heard a very deep rumble. People outside told our colleagues that they saw streaks in the sky and, of course, big explosions. We know that people were running and screaming in these neighbourhoods, absolutely traumatised.
These are densely packed neighbourhoods anyway, but many people have come from the southern suburbs of Beirut and are sheltering there. About 700,000 people emptied from these suburbs into these areas, so they’d already been traumatised and moved once. Of course, they wanted to seek safety, and they certainly did not find that in the centre of Beirut.
Members of the Red Cross stand near a damaged building at the site of an Israeli air strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 10
Hezbollah political official survives Israeli assassination attempt: Report
A senior Hezbollah political official survived an assassination attempt on Thursday night, three anonymous security sources have told the Reuters news agency, as the Israeli military carried out its largest attack yet on central Beirut.
Wafiq Safa, the chief of Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit, which works with Lebanese security agencies, was reportedly the target as Israeli fighter jets bombed a densely-packed neighbourhood in the heart of Beirut, killing at least 22 people and injuring 117 others.
The Israeli military did not issue an evacuation order before carrying out the strike, which was only the third to hit central Beirut since the start of its bombing campaign in late September.
Most Israeli attacks have been concentrated in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, and where the Lebanese armed group has its headquarters.
Reports that Israeli strike on Beirut was first targeting of Hezbollah ‘political figure’
We know from Israeli media that the Israeli army seems to be targeting a member of Hezbollah. His name is Wafiq Safa. He was the head of Hezbollah’s liaison coordination unit.
It is important to know that this is the first political figure they have targeted. He is a liaison between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, and he also deals with some foreign relations as well.
This is the first time that we have really seen Israel extend their attacks away from just military figures – as they’ve been trying to take down the military functions of Hezbollah. Which, of course, makes it very dangerous for people here.
They are Hezbollah members of Lebanon’s parliament. They play an active role in parliament. So they really could be anywhere, and it makes it very dangerous for people here in central Beirut.
