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The Israeli military carried out multiple airstrikes overnight on the southern outskirts of Beirut, in one of the heaviest bombing raids on the Lebanese capital, as part of an intensified operation against the militant group Hezbollah.
Residents across Beirut heard several loud explosions, and flames and large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the southern suburbs of Dahieh early Friday.
Unconfirmed Israeli media reports suggest the target was Hashem Saffieddin, the heir apparent of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a major attack on Dahiyeh last week. Saffieddin, a fellow cleric and Nasrallah’s cousin, was believed to have been trained for the job in recent years. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The explosion was similar in scale to the wave of attacks that destroyed at least six residential buildings in Dahieh and killed Nasrallah. Most of Dahieh’s hundreds of thousands of residents have fled relentless Israeli shelling in recent days.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since October have killed nearly 2,000 people, the majority in the past two weeks, Lebanon’s health minister said. More than 1.2 million people were displaced, sparking one of the country’s worst crises in decades.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamie said Israeli airstrikes near the Lebanese-Syrian border early Friday cut off a highway used by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Israeli artillery fire. Said on TV. .
Hamier said the airstrike near the Masna border crossing had left a four-meter-wide crater in the road. Footage on Manar TV’s Telegram account showed a road with a long, deep crater at a location identified as an intersection.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichai Adlai said on Thursday X that Hezbollah is using the civilian border to transport weapons from Syria after Israel targeted other smuggling routes.
The IDF announced that it had “eliminated” Mahmoud Youssef Anisi, whom the air force said was a key leader in Hezbollah’s precision-guided missile production, in a Beirut airstrike earlier in the week.
Hezbollah has not commented on the IDF’s claims. Confirmation of Anisi’s death would be another blow to Lebanese armed groups, which have suffered a series of debilitating losses in recent weeks.
In a further sign of expanding Israeli aggression, the country’s army on Friday ordered the evacuation of 17 villages in southern Lebanon, in some places forcing residents to move north of the Awari River, which runs 60 kilometers north of the Lebanon-Israel border. instructed. This brings the number of villages that have received such orders to 87.
Israel’s attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has raised fears of an all-out conflict in the Middle East. Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles against Israel this week, claiming it was retaliation for the assassination of Nasrallah, one of Tehran’s closest allies, and other extremist leaders. The missile attack drew threats of retaliation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Beirut on Friday, saying it was a surprise visit to show solidarity with Lebanon and deliver food and medicine.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei will lead prayers on Fridays, a rare event reserved for important national moments. Khamenei is expected to focus on the Israeli attack in Lebanon, the killing of Nasrallah and the implications for Iran’s regional strategy.
His last sermon was delivered in 2020 after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran’s most respected military commanders.
Israel has also stepped up attacks in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, carrying out airstrikes in Tulkarem on Thursday that the Palestinian Ministry of Health said killed at least 18 people in the area. It was the worst airstrike since the start of the civil war. war. Israel said it targeted Hamas leader Zahi Yasser Abd al-Razek Ufi in the city.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said late Thursday that at least 37 people had been killed and another 151 injured in Israeli attacks across the country in the past 24 hours.
Hezbollah also said it had repelled several ground operations by Israeli forces, including ambushes and direct confrontations.
In a statement Thursday night, the G7 said it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Lebanon” and urged “all parties to stop hostilities as soon as possible to make room for a diplomatic solution” and to “protect civilians.” “I asked for it.”
