At least five killed in Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon

At least five people were killed and eight wounded in an Israeli air strike on a building in central Beirut, Lebanese officials said.

The multi-storey building in Bachoura houses a health center linked to Hezbollah, which the Israeli army said was hit in a “precision” attack.

This is the first Israeli strike near the center of Beirut – just meters from the Lebanese parliament. There were five more airstrikes overnight targeting the area south of Dahieh.

This comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Eight soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, its first loss since it began ground operations against the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said it destroyed Israeli tanks during the fighting and insisted it had enough men and ammunition to push the forces back.

Earlier, the IDF announced that many infantry and armed forces had joined the operation to dismantle what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the Lebanese border towns.

In the latest overnight strikes, three explosions were heard in Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of the city – and a fourth near the center.

There were two more airstrikes in Dahieh, which came after the IDF warned people living nearby that it was targeting what it said were Hezbollah bases in an area of ​​the city known as its base.

Before the overnight airstrikes, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said 46 people had been killed and 85 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours, without distinguishing between civilians and fighters.

It has also emerged that a US permanent resident from the state of Michigan is among those killed in recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Kamel Ahmad Jawad, 56, was in the country to take care of his elderly mother, according to the Detroit News.

His death was confirmed by a White House official, who said: “His death is tragic, as are the deaths of many people in Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has been weakened after two weeks of Israeli strikes and other attacks that have killed more than 1,200 people across Lebanon and displaced nearly 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel has continued its offensive after a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the Gaza war, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of border residents displaced by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is the most powerful Shia Islamist political, military and social organization in Lebanon. It has been designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, the UK and other countries.

On the second full day of its ground offensive in Lebanon, the Israeli military encountered Hezbollah fighters for the first time.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that air-supported forces “eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure using precision-guided munitions and close-quarters engagements” in several areas of southern Lebanon.

Later, the IDF announced that eight soldiers had been killed in action. Most were commandos from the elite Egoz and Golani Reconnaissance units.

Hezbollah said its fighters fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli commandos, killing and wounding dozens during clashes on Wednesday at one border post.

It also said that some soldiers were targeted with explosives and guns on the outskirts of Kafr Kila, while three Israeli Merkava tanks were destroyed by missiles near Maroun al-Ras.

Hezbollah has spent years building an infrastructure in southern Lebanon that includes extensive underground tunnels. It also has thousands of fighters, who know the area well.

Honoring the eight soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they fell “in the midst of a difficult war against the evil Iran, which wants to destroy us”.

“This will not happen, because we will stand together, and with God’s help, we will win together,” he added.

Israel’s air force also returned to action a day after it repelled most of the more than 180 missiles fired by Iran at Israel on Tuesday night in retaliation for an Israeli air strike in Beirut last Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a top commander. of Iranian.

More than 240 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel throughout Wednesday, according to the IDF.

Netanyahu insists that a ground attack on Lebanon will weaken Hezbollah’s strength and drive its fighters back, eventually allowing some 60,000 Israelis to return to their homes near the border.

Meanwhile, American President Joe Biden said he did not support Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He added that the US would “discuss with the Israelis what they will do” in response to Iran’s aggression.