At least 22 people were killed in an attack by Israeli forces in downtown Beirut on Thursday evening, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Two neighborhoods have been completely destroyed.
It was the deadliest attack on Beirut in the war, which lasted more than a year. According to an AP cameraman who was there, the attack targeted two residential buildings in two different neighborhoods. This resulted in the complete collapse of an eight-story building and the collapse of the lower floor of another building.
Israel’s military said it was investigating the attack. Israel typically attacks Beirut’s populous southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has its base of operations.
After this attack, Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, one of the group’s top security officials, had failed. They said Safa was not in either of the two buildings.
On the same day of the attack, Israeli forces opened fire on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and wounded two. This drew widespread condemnation from Israel, and Italy’s defense ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador there in protest.
Witnesses said ambulances and people crowded in front of the debris in the two affected areas in Beirut. These two places are Ras Al Naba and Burj Abi Haider.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 22 people were killed and 117 wounded in the attack, but did not provide details on their identities.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel as Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into Israel on Thursday. The military said some drones fired at Israel were intercepted.
Israel’s Channel 12 reports that a meeting of Israel’s security ministers has been called for Thursday to discuss how the country is responding to these attacks.
On the other hand, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFL, said in a statement that its headquarters and its base were “repeatedly hit” by Israeli forces.
They say Israeli tanks fired directly at an observation tower at their headquarters in the Lebanese city of Nakoura and soldiers at a bunker near which the peacekeepers had taken refuge. Vehicles and communication systems were damaged. They say an Israeli drone is seen flying near the entrance to the bunker.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the two wounded UN peacekeepers are Indonesian citizens and have been hospitalized