Airstrikes hit Beirut in first strike within city limits since war broke out


_{A still from a social media video show the aftermath of the airstrikes that hit Beirut in the early hours of Monday.}

Airstrikes hit Beirut in the early hours of Monday morning, marking the first time strikes landed within the city limits of the Lebanese capital since the war started last October.

Videos geolocated by CNN show chaotic scenes on the streets of Beirut following the strike. The footage shows the strikes hit near Cola Bridge - a major intersection in the city.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

Some context: Until now Israel’s airstrikes on the Beirut have focused on the southern part of the city, the densely populated and predominantly Shia neighborhoods where Hezbollah have a stronghold.

PFLP announces deaths of three members in Kola strike

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine armed group named the three men as:

Biden says he'll speak with Netanyahu soon and that a wider war must be avoided

US President Joe Biden says he’ll speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon as tensions in the Middle East increase following Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

“Yes, I will be talking to him,” Biden said Sunday as he headed for the White House from Dover Air Force Base.

He added “we really have to avoid” all-out war in the Middle East, saying, “We’ve already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave, but we’re not there yet. But we’re working like hell with the French and many others.”

Some background: Before Nasrallah’s killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off a ceasefire proposal brokered by the United States and France that called for a 21-day pause in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border, infuriating American officials who had been led to believe he was on board.

Israel informed the US it was launching its major operation in Beirut only after it was underway — again, to the frustration of some American officials.

Already at odds with Netanyahu over the nearly yearlong war in Gaza, Biden is now working to calm two fronts at a moment when his influence on Netanyahu’s decision-making appears to be at an all-time low.

Biden always says the same. Wider war must be avoided, yet every time it gets 'wider', he's fine with the escalation again...
It's fine when Israel escalates, Biden, Blinken and cohorts will rush in to discourage any retaliation.
Only Israel is allowed to defend itself.

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Trinidad and Tobago minister exposes US double standard, warns Netanyahu on ICC | Janta Ka Reporter

Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Minister has just delivered a powerful speech at the United National General Assembly in which he ripped into the US administration led by Joe Biden for its double standard on the Middle East conflict and warned Netanyahu (without taking his name) to not intimidate the International Criminal Court.

Attack on Beirut’s Kola district

Photos have been coming in from the scene of the early Monday attack in Beirut’s Kola district.

The PFLP said three of its members were killed in the attack.

Who are the PFLP?

The PFLP is saying three of its members were killed in an Israeli attack on Kola in Beirut.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was founded by George Habash in 1967 as an umbrella organisation for Marxist-Leninist and Arab nationalist groups after Israel occupied the West Bank and seized East Jerusalem.

Its military wing, known as the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, is active in Gaza where it has worked alongside Hamas.

The PFLP calls for the creation of a democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine through armed struggle. The EU and US have designated both its political and military wings “terrorist organisations”.

Israeli military says launched air attacks on Hezbollah sites in Bekaa

The Israeli military has said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s Bekaa region.

Israeli Air Force jets “attacked dozens of launchers and buildings where weapons were stored in the Bekaa in Lebanon,” it said in a statement on Telegram, adding that the sites were linked to Hezbollah.

Israel “will continue to attack powerfully, damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon”, it added.

Woman, child killed in Israeli attack on Deir el-Balah

Israeli fighter jets have bombed a house in Deir el-Balah’s Hakr al-Jami area, killing the woman and her child, according to the Wafa news agency.

We have reached a point where there are no red lines for Israel

The attack on Kola is a significant Israeli strike in terms of location, target and messaging.

This is the first time an area in the capital has been hit. Earlier attacks were on its southern suburbs. So this is Israel, very empowered, feeling that it can act with little restraint and that there are no red lines.

But at the same time, even if Hezbollah needs time to regroup, if it does hit Tel Aviv, they don’t know Israel’s counterresponse. Will there be carpet bombing?

Now the target – members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This is a Palestinian group that really has not been involved in the cross-border violence that began 11 months ago.

So this is Israel being empowered to go after its enemies. We have reached a point where there are no red lines in this campaign against Hezbollah and groups that support it.


What we know about Israel’s attack on Kola in Beirut

Overnight on Sunday and into early Monday morning, the Israeli military attacked the Kola area of Beirut, striking the upper floor of an apartment building.

Netanyahu ‘lost interest’ in ceasefire deal, freeing captives

As Netanyahu continues to push for attacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reports that the PM appears to have “completely lost interest” in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas to secure the return of the captives.

“He still pays lip service to bringing the hostages home, but in practice, he is wholly focused on the fronts with Hezbollah and Iran, which are heating up,” Haaretz said.

The analysis of Netanyahu’s latest decisions found that the Israeli leader, who is receiving praise for going ahead with the Lebanon attacks, seems to be “determined” to continue attacks on all fronts, with a ceasefire being the least of his priorities.

Israeli strikes in Marjayoun and Nabatieh kill at least 7 over past day

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health announced that Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours in the southern districts of Marjayoun and Nabatieh have killed at least seven people and injured about 40 more.

At least 105 people have been killed across Lebanon over the past 24 hours as Israeli army fighter jets continue nonstop bombardment across the country.

Five confirmed dead following Israeli strikes in Bekaa Valley

At least five people have been killed following Israeli strikes in the town of Sahmar in the western Bekaa Valley, according to local news reports.

All the deceased were civil defence personnel with the Islamic Health Authority.

Earlier, we reported that Israeli fighter jets “attacked dozens of launchers and buildings where weapons were stored in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon”, according to a Telegram post, adding that the sites were linked to Hezbollah.

Israeli drone kills 3 people in southern Lebanon

The Israeli drone fired on the group at the junction of the towns of Arzoun and Chehour in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. Three people are confirmed dead and one is wounded.

Hamas leader killed in Israeli air strike in Lebanon

Hamas says its leader in Lebanon has been killed in an air attack in the country’s south as official media reported a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp.

“Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, the leader of Hamas … in Lebanon and member of the movement’s leadership abroad” was killed in a strike on his “home in the Al-Bass camp in south Lebanon”, a Hamas statement said.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported an air raid on the camp near the southern city of Tyre.

Smoke rising in southern Beirut suburbs

Reuters is reporting smoke from Beirut’s southern suburbs after a suspected Israeli attack. There have already been Israeli strikes near central Beirut earlier this morning, killing at least three people.

French foreign minister calls for ‘immediate halt’ to Israeli attacks on Lebanon

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is in Lebanon.

He’s the first senior foreign diplomat to visit the country since Israel stepped up its attacks a week ago. He met Prime Minister Najib Mikati after arriving on Sunday night and said Paris sought “an immediate halt” to Israeli strikes.

Barrot is due to meet the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and members of the UN peacekeeping force in the south. He arrived shortly after France confirmed a second French citizen had been killed in Lebanon.

Saudi Foreign Ministry says following Lebanon situation with ‘great concern’

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has said it is following developments in Lebanon with “great concern”.

In a statement released on Monday, it stressed the need to “preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and announced it would send medical aid and humanitarian assistance.

#Statement | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the developments taking place in the Republic of Lebanon, and stresses the need to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. pic.twitter.com/N5Uvbj429I

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) September 29, 2024

Australia threatens to cancel visas of those protesting attacks on Lebanon

Australia’s Labor government has threatened to cancel visas of anyone inciting “discord” in the country following protests over the weekend against Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

“Any indication of support for a terrorist organisation is unequivocally condemned,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

“There is a higher level of scrutiny if anyone is on a visa. I have made clear from day one that I will consider refusing and cancelling visas for anyone who seeks to incite discord in Australia.”

Australia’s opposition has speculated that people carrying pictures of Nasrallah at the rallies were visa holders and called for their cancellation. However, no evidence has been provided for that claim.

PM Anthony Albanese said in a statement, “We do not want people to bring radical ideologies of conflict here.”

Israel wants dismantling of Hezbollah altogether

France really doesn’t have much influence to affect the course of this conflict.

Everyone here will tell you it is the Biden administration. But at the same time, the feeling here is that the Biden administration is supporting Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah.

The US sees this as Israel’s right to self-defence, and many believe that this escalation is not about de-escalating the conflict or using military pressure to reach some sort of settlement.

Many believe that the strategy is to escalate the situation to victory and that means that Israel is no longer interested in the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which it has been demanding from Hezbollah so that it pulls its forces back from the border.

Now it wants more. It wants a second part of this resolution. It wants the dismantling of Hezbollah altogether. And that’s the real concern here – that Israel does not want a ceasefire and what it wants is a total victory against a group it sees as their biggest threat on their borders.

Israel says it will not agree to ceasefire in Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz says the government will not agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster. “The only way that is acceptable for Israel to stop the fire is to move Hezbollah north of the Litani and disarm it,” Katz was reported as saying.

The implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions is also required for a ceasefire in Lebanon, he added.

“As long as these do not occur, Israel will continue its actions to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel and the return of the residents of the north to their homes.” Katz added that Nasrallah’s assassination was one of the most justified countermeasures Israel has ever carried out, and that he was planning more attacks against Israel.

There's a clear example of how to achieve peace, see Ireland and the IRA. It's not by bombing the population.

‘All the people Israel is killing are children and women’

As we’ve been reporting, Israeli raids in Lebanon have killed at least 136 people in the last 24 hours.

In the southern city of Tyre, six people were killed. Relatives of the victims say most of them were women and children.

Families dug graves to bury their loved ones amid continuous bombardment.

“We still have people under the rubble. An elderly man, a 70-year-old woman, a 90-year-old man. Most of those killed are women and children, and a Lebanese army member, his parents, his sister-in-law, and his brother were martyred,” Sawsan Halawi, one of those wounded in the attack and a relative of a person killed, said.

“All the people Israel is killing are children and women. They are turning us into a second Gaza. We tell Israel: We are not scared of you or your weapons, as long as God is with us.”

Israel feeling invincible following strikes on several fronts

Israel is feeling emboldened and invincible. It is seemingly not going only after Hezbollah and Hamas but now the head of the PLFP. This is not a major Palestinian faction but part of the Palestinian fabric.

We also had the strikes in Yemen and Syria. Israel seems to be going after a list of targets not necessarily linked to just Hezbollah and Hamas.

Of course, there is a real danger of regional escalation. The rhetoric coming out of Israel is it’s not going to stop, and it’s not going to be stopped. No ceasefire in the north, no ceasefire in Gaza and it’s going to continue.

The question is how long it’s going to continue and at what point there will be severe retaliation because we haven’t seen that yet.

Israel keeping up its attacks in southern Lebanon

In the last few minutes, we’ve heard a very large explosion in the distance here in southern Lebanon. Israel is clearly keeping up its pressure on this part of Lebanon.

But in the last hour, the Health Ministry announced that four people were killed and five wounded in Israeli air raids on a relatively large town in the Sidon district.

That brings the death toll in the last 24 hours to 136.

This is putting so much pressure on not just the emergency service but also civil defence and all of the civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Israel raids three towns in southern Lebanon

Our colleagues on the ground are reporting that the Israeli army launched raids on al-Abbassieh, Harouf and Bedias in southern Lebanon. Earlier, US media reported that raids into Lebanon have included sending troops into Hezbollah tunnels along the border.

The report added that the small raids took place before a possible wider ground operation. However, the report pointed out that Israel is under heavy pressure from the US not to launch the operation, so the timing of the operation could be delayed.

More than 100,000 people crossed into Syria from Lebanon this month

More than 100,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrian nationals – have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah this month, the UN refugee agency’s (UNCHR) Filippo Grandi said.

In the last week, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 700 people in Lebanon, including 14 paramedics in two days.

Mohammed Saleh, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera of his double displacement.

“We were forced to leave Syria and come to Lebanon… where we were received with great hospitality. Now we are going back to my country, Syria,” Saleh said. “Lebanon is also our country and we feel very sad to leave. The Israelis have attacked and destroyed our second country Lebanon. I cry because of the children who were killed by the Israelis.”

Israel has moved from deterrence to an ‘offensive footing’

Daniel Levy, an analyst from the US-Middle East Project and former Israeli government negotiator, shares his thoughts with Al Jazeera about Israel’s strategy going forward. Here’s what he said:

 
Israeli ground operation very much on the table

The message from the Israelis is that it is operating from a position of inflated confidence, of victory, all guns blazing. Nothing will stop them.

A ground operation is very much on the table. The feeling from the military is now is the time, in the next couple of days if it gets authorised. They feel it’s time to seize on the momentum of the blows they have given to the group, that if you stop, Hezbollah will be allowed to regroup.

So I think you will have different voices within the establishment, whether to go in on the ground or continue where Israel really holds its upper hand, which is from the air.

The moment they enter with ground troops, it is a very different dynamic. Hezbollah will have the upper hand when it comes to the ground, they also have a whole underground tunnel system, just like Hamas, that is potentially more sophisticated.

Hezbollah’s been preparing for this for years.

Iran will respond if national security threatened: Foreign ministry

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says no “criminal acts” of Israel will be left unanswered, adding that “anyone who stands against Iran’s national security will undoubtedly receive a response from Iran.”

“We do not make empty promises, we have shown in practice that we stand firmly against aggressors who intend to violate Iran’s national security, and our response will be regretful for them,” Nasser Kanaani said during a news briefing.

“Iran will not leave any aggressive actions of the Zionist regime, which target Iran’s interests, unanswered. This regime will not go unpunished for the crimes it has committed, and Iran will take appropriate measures in response.”