Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut near key government buildings and embassies

AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE has hit a densely populated residential area in Lebanon’s capital close to UN headquarters, Lebanon’s parliament, its prime minister’s office and several embassies.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood of Beirut.

Ambulance sirens were heard echoing throughout the area.

A reporter with The Associated Press at the scene described significant casualties on the street. 

No official casualty figures have yet been released.

The target of the airstrike remains unclear and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning.

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, became a refuge for many people displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The strike also occurred near a Hussainiye, a Shia mosque.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause.

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Yesterday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman.

Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias. It remains unclear what the target of that strike was.

The Israeli military did not have immediate comment.

Minutes after the strike, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a post on social media, “All countries and decision-makers are required to end the bloody and destructive Israeli aggression on Lebanon and implement international resolutions, most notably Resolution 1701.”

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, was intended to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

However, the resolution’s full implementation has faced challenges from both sides.

The resolution is again on the table as part of an American proposal for a ceasefire deal, aiming to end 13 months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli forces would fully withdraw while Unifil and the Lebanese army — Hezbollah excluded — would be the exclusive armed presence south of Lebanon’s Litani River.

Also today, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles against Israel.

A rocket that hit the northern Israeli city of Shfaram injured six people, one critically, and trapped one woman inside a building, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.