2 days ago
Last Updated: October 20, 2024, 08:03 IST
Israel
Smoke billows up over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli attack | Image/Reuters
The Israeli strikes are seen as retaliation to Hezbollah's attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a targeted drone attack near his holiday home in Caesarea, northern Israel.
The Israeli forces said it struck the Hezbollah arms facilities in southern Beirut on Saturday with casualties still being assessed. The strikes came as health officials in Gaza said Israeli bombardments had killed at least 35 people and a siege around three hospitals had tightened.
The Israeli strikes are seen as retaliation to Hezbollah’s attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a targeted drone attack near his holiday home in Caesarea, northern Israel.
Netanyahu was not there at the time, his spokesman said, and it was not immediately clear if the building was hit. But the prime minister said what he called an attempt to assassinate him and his wife was a “grave mistake”.
Middle East Tension Escalates After Sinwar’s Killing
Promises by Israel and its enemies Hamas and Hezbollah to keep fighting have chilled hopes that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday might lead to truces in Gaza and Lebanon and prevent further escalation in the Middle East.
Officials, diplomats and other sources say that with U.S. elections approaching, Israel is seeking to use intensified military operations to try to shield its borders and ensure its rivals cannot regroup.
On Saturday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza with a picture of Sinwar and the message: “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza”.
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations, leaving thick plumes of smoke hanging over the city into the evening. The strikes targeted “several Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command centre”, Israel’s military said.
Israel had issued evacuation orders for four separate neighbourhoods within the suburbs, urging residents to get 500 metres (yards) away, but carried out strikes in other areas as well, witnesses said.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs – once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations – since Israel began regular strikes there about three weeks ago.
