TEHRAN – At least 14 people killed and 66 others in injured in an airstrike on a densely populated residential neighborhood in Beirut on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Lebanon’s National News Agency says five children are among the victims of the attack.
The Lebanese Civil Defense said two buildings collapsed in the Jamous neighborhood during the strike.
In a social media post, the Iranian embassy in Beirut condemned the “Israeli madness” and targeting of residential buildings.
Middle East Eye reported that in the airstrike senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was assassinated.
Reportedly, Aqil was Hezbollah’s second in command since the killing of Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike on Beirut in July.
In response, Hezbollah said it struck the main intelligence headquarters in northern Israel with rockets, saying it was “responsible for assassinations”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the Israeli strike on Beirut shows Israel “gives no weight to any humanitarian, legal or moral considerations”.
The year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reached new heights this week when thousands of pagers and handheld radios were detonated in two shocking Israeli attacks.
The blasts killed 37 people, including two children, and wounded thousands more – many severely.
Russia, Jordan and Egypt have all said that Israel’s attacks this week are an attempt to drag the Middle East into a broader regional war.
The latest Israeli attack on the southern Beirut suburbs demonstrates how Israel’s army feels emboldened by the unwavering support of the United States, according to Rami Khoury, a professor at the American University of Beirut.
“Israel [is] on a rampage,” Khoury told Al Jazeera, adding that while he does not believe an all-out regional war is imminent, an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah appears inevitable.
Israel has long sought to defeat Hezbollah, which is better equipped than Hamas.
Lebanese foreign minister says ‘no one is safe’ following electronic attacks
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that Israel must be held accountable for “unfathomable” attacks that killed Lebanese civilians.
Here’s more of what the Lebanese foreign minister told the UN Security Council:
- “No one in this world is safe anymore in the aftermath of the electronic attacks which were carried out recently in Lebanon. Those were unfathomable attacks. They have led to the injury of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.”
- “If this terrorist attack is not condemned by your council — and if you do not name the perpetrator, if you do not deter the perpetrator, condemn it, and compel it to stop such aggressions — the credibility of this council, of international law, and of human rights law, are at stake.”
- “Accepting what happened amounts to opening a Pandora’s box.”
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