Israel has launched its heaviest air attack on Beirut in almost a year of conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, levelling a number of buildings in a southern suburb in an apparent attempt to kill Hezbollah’s leader and a key ally of Iran, Hassan Nasrallah,
The Guardian reports.
Six loud explosions were heard across the Lebanese capital late on Friday afternoon, and vast plumes of smoke were visible from as far as Batroun, a city an hour’s drive away.
Several apartment blocks in the predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Haret Hreik were reduced to rubble, and footage from the scene showed huge slabs of concrete topped by piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Several craters were visible, into one of which a car had fallen.
The Lebanese health ministry said six people had died and 91 were injured, while some early estimates put the number of dead at 300. More casualties are expected as rescue workers clear rubble.
Video of the strikes suggested they were carried out with ground-penetrating munitions known as bunker busters. In some footage, a vertical jet of flame was visible as a bomb appeared to explode beneath the ground.
Israeli media reported that Nasrallah was the principle target and that the military was checking whether he had been hit. Other media outlets quoted Hezbollah sources saying he was “alive and well”.
The strikes came shortly after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told the UN general assembly in a bellicose speech marked by the walkout of dozens of diplomats that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue despite international efforts to secure a three-week ceasefire.
