Lebanese authorities say nine people were killed and 14 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a building in central Beirut.
The high-rise block in Bachola houses a Hezbollah-affiliated health center, and the Israeli military said it had been hit by a “precision” attack.
This is the first Israeli attack near central Beirut, just meters from the Lebanese parliament. There were five more airstrikes overnight against targets on the southern outskirts of Dahieh.
The announcement comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said eight soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, its first loss since the start of ground operations against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said it destroyed an Israeli tank during the fighting and claimed it had enough men and ammunition to push back its forces.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces announced that more infantry and armored troops had taken part in an operation to clear what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in villages on the Lebanese border.
During the latest night strike, three explosions were heard in Dahieh, on the city’s southern outskirts, and a fourth was heard closer to the centre.
There were two more airstrikes in Dahiyeh, which came after the Israel Defense Forces warned nearby residents that they were targeting facilities belonging to Hezbollah in an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Ahead of the night airstrikes, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced that 46 people had been killed and 85 injured in Israeli bombing in the past 24 hours, without distinguishing between civilians and fighters.
Many of those killed in the attack in central Beirut were rescue workers and paramedics, Beirut’s civil defense authorities said.
It has also been revealed that a permanent resident of the United States from Michigan was among those killed in the recent Israeli airstrike on Lebanon.
According to the Detroit News, Kamel Ahmad Jawad, 56, had come to Japan to care for his elderly mother.
A White House official confirmed his death, saying, “His death, like the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon, is a tragedy.”
Lebanese officials say two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and other attacks have left more than 1,200 people dead and some 1.2 million displaced across Lebanon, weakening Hezbollah.
Israel is on the offensive after nearly a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the Gaza war and wants to ensure the safe return of border residents displaced by Hezbollah attacks. said.
Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist political, military, and social organization that wields significant power in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
On the second full day of the ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces encountered Hezbollah fighters for the first time.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that its soldiers, supported by aircraft, “eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure through precision-guided munitions and close-range engagement” in several areas of southern Lebanon. announced.
Later, the Israel Defense Forces announced that eight soldiers had been killed in action. Most were special forces from the elite Egos and Golani reconnaissance units.
Hezbollah said its fighters fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli special forces in clashes in a border village early Wednesday morning, killing and wounding dozens.
He also said other troops were targeted by explosives and gunfire outside Kafr Qira, and three Israeli Merkava tanks were destroyed by missiles near Maroun al-Ras.
Hezbollah has spent years building infrastructure in southern Lebanon, including extensive underground tunnels. There are also thousands of fighters who know the region well.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to the eight soldiers, saying they had fallen “in the midst of a bitter war with the Iranian axis of evil that seeks to destroy us.”
“That will not happen. We are united and with God’s help we will win together,” he added.
Israeli air defense forces on Tuesday night carried out more than 180 rounds fired by Iran at Israel in retaliation for last Friday’s Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Islamic militant. They resumed operations the day after defeating most of the ballistic missiles. Supreme Commander of Iran.
More than 240 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel throughout Wednesday, the IDF said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that the ground offensive in Lebanon could reduce Hezbollah’s capabilities, push back its fighters and eventually allow some 60,000 Israelis to return to their homes near the border.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said he does not support Israeli retaliatory strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. He added that the US would “talk to the Israeli side about what it intends to do” in response to Iranian barrage.