Israel says it struck the headquarters of the extremist organization Hezbollah in Beirut, which was located under apartment buildings.
Leonard Wilhelmus,
Simo Ortamo,
Jalmari Salaterä
27.9. 18:27•Updated 0:42
On Friday, Israel carried out massive airstrikes on the southern parts of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
According to Israel, the strike hit the headquarters of the extremist organization Hezbollah in southern Beirut. According to the Israeli Armed Forces, the headquarters was hidden under residential apartment buildings.
The target of the attack was the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallahreports the US media Axios and several Israeli media. Israeli newspaper Haaretz and according to Reuters and AFP sources, however, Nasrallah survived the attack.
The blows could be seen and heard several kilometers away in the city center, where ‘s reporter Antti Kuronen is currently
– There was a short series of really loud explosions, says Kuronen.
According to Kuronen, people rushed to the street after hearing the explosions. After that, they gathered in the lobby of a nearby hotel to watch the situation on TV.
According to a source interviewed by the news agency AFP, no less than six residential buildings were destroyed in the attack.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least six people have died and 91 people have been injured in the attack. It is believed that the number of victims will still increase.
According to the Minister of Health, only a few people have arrived at the hospitals, because most of them are still in the ruins of the buildings.
– They were apartment buildings that were full of people, Minister of Health Firass Abiad quoth according to the American newspaper The New York Times.
According to the minister, four to six apartment buildings have been completely destroyed in the attacks.
It is the biggest attack on Beirut during the year-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati called on the international community to stop Israel waging a “war of genocide” against Lebanon.
– This latest Israeli attack shows that our enemy Israel does not care about international appeals for a ceasefire, Mikati said.
Several countries have condemned the attack. President of Iran by Masoud Pezeshkian according to which the attack was “a clear and undeniable war crime”. France’s ambassador to the UN of Nicolas de Riviere according to which the airstrikes on Lebanon must be stopped immediately.
Late on Friday, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out a counterattack on the northern Israeli city of Safed.
The organization said in a statement that it launched several rockets “to defend Lebanon and its people in response to Israel.”
On Thursday, several countries, including the United States and France, proposed an immediate 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
According to the United States, it did not receive information about Friday’s Israeli airstrikes in advance.
The threat of full-scale war is growing
Almost 800 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon in recent days. In addition, 100,000 people have had to leave their homes.
Israel’s goal is to stop Hezbollah’s rocket attacks. Because of them, Israel has had to evacuate 60,000 people from the northern parts of the country.
So far, Hezbollah has not agreed to Israel’s demands. The extremist organization started the rocket attacks as a result of the Gaza war. It has said it will end the strikes if Israel signs a cease-fire in Gaza.
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu however, has not shown willingness to conclude a ceasefire.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel threatens to escalate to full scale, and Israel has also prepared a ground attack on Lebanon.
Sources: AFP, Reuters
Correction 9/27/2024 at 7:43 p.m.: The story previously stated that according to the Swedish broadcaster SVT, Israel attacked the Iranian embassy. However, according to SVT, the information was incorrect.