BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – At least 37 people, including three children and seven women, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the outskirts of Beirut on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Saturday.
Hezbollah said last night that it was the deadliest attack in a year since the start of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict and that the dead included 16 Hezbollah members, including senior leader Ibrahim Akil and another top commander, Ahmed Wahbi.
The Israeli military said in a post on Wednesday that the attack struck an underground meeting of senior commanders of Akil and Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, “almost completely dismantling” Hezbollah’s military command structure.
Heavy cross-border attacks continued on Saturday, with Israeli warplanes carrying out the heaviest bombing raids in southern Lebanon in 11 months of fighting, and Hezbollah claiming rocket attacks on military facilities in northern Israel.
Friday’s attack marked a sharp escalation in the conflict between the Israeli and Iran-backed groups and dealt a further blow to Hezbollah following two days of attacks this week that saw the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members.
A total of 39 people were killed in these attacks and over 3,000 were injured.
The attacks on communications equipment are widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Hezbollah-aligned Transportation Minister Ali Hamiyeh told reporters at the scene of the attack on Friday that at least 23 people were still missing.
“Israel’s enemies are trying to lead the region to war,” he said.
The ministry has sent vehicles and equipment to help with the search efforts in the collapsed buildings.
“We are rescuing women and children from under the rubble,” he said.
“A new phase”
Hezbollah confirmed Akil’s death in a statement shortly after midnight, calling him “one of the organization’s most senior leaders.”
Overnight, the group said 15 others were also killed, including Wakhbi, a senior commander who led Radwan’s military operations during the Gaza war until early 2024.
A security source said on Friday that the attack on Friday afternoon targeted a building next to the nursery, which was also affected.
A second security source said multiple missiles hit an opening in the building’s garage, and the explosion hit the building’s lower floors as Akil was meeting with other commanders inside.
In a brief statement Friday night carried by Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s goals were clear and its actions spoke for themselves.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said Israel would launch a new phase of the war on its northern border this week, posted on X: “This new series of actions will continue until our goal of ensuring the safe return of northern residents to their homes is achieved.”
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in October in sympathy with the Palestinians in Israel’s nearly year-long war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military on Saturday banned civilian flights over northern Israel’s airspace north of the city of Hadera, but said the move would not affect international flights.
“These restrictions were put in place to maintain flight safety and be consistent with operational activities,” the military said.
“A dangerous cycle of violence”
At least 70 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, bringing the country’s death toll since October to more than 740. The current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is the worst since they fought an all-out war in 2006.
Janine Hennis-Plusschaert, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said on Friday that the attack in a densely populated southern suburb of Beirut was “part of a very dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences. It must end now.”
Friday’s attack was the second time in less than two months that Israel has targeted a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut. In July, an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr.
While the current fighting is largely confined to areas near the border, this week’s escalation has raised concerns that it could widen and escalate further.
