BEIRUT: A powerful airstrike killed 15 people in central Beirut and 13 others were killed in attacks northeast of the Lebanese capital on Saturday, while around 120 Palestinians were killed as Israel continued to press its offensive in Gaza and Lebanon.

Eight of the victims, four of them children, were killed in a strike on the Lebanese village of Chimstar and five people died in an attack on the village of Bodai, the ministry said. Both villages are in the Baalbek district.

In Beirut, an eight-storey building was struck with four missiles, including bunker penetrating types designed to hit underground targets, said a Lebanese security source.

At the site of the Israeli strike in central Beirut, Amin Chirri, a member of parliament, said there had been no Hezbollah leader in the building that was struck.

The Israeli military made no immediate comment.

Saturday’s blasts shook the Lebanese capital at around 4am and left a deep crater. Beirut smelled strongly of explosives for hours afterwards.

Rescuers searched through rubble, in an area of the city known for its antique shops.

It was the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, in contrast to the bulk of Israel’s attacks on the capital region.

“There was dust and wrecked houses, people running and screaming, they were running, my wife is in hospital, my daughter is in hospital, my aunt is in the hospital,” said Nemir Zakariya, who held up a picture of his daughter after the strike.

“This is the little one, and my son also got hurt — this is my daughter, she is in the American University (of Beirut Medical Centre), this is what happened.”

Separately, at least five people were killed and two wounded in an Israeli strike on Roum village in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Israeli strikes killed at least 62 people and injured 111 in Lebanon on Thursday, bringing the toll in 13 months to 3,645 dead and 15,355 injured, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The Lebanese government has accused Israel of indiscriminate bombing that kills civilians. Israel denies the allegation and says it takes numerous steps to avoid the deaths of civilians and it accuses Hezbollah of using human shields.

120 killed in 48 hours

On the other hand, Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 120 Pale­stinians over the last 48 hours and hit a hospital on the northern edge of the enclave, wounding medical staff and damaging equipment, Palestinian medics said on Saturday.

Among the dead were seven members of one family whose house was hit overnight in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, the health officials said. The rest were killed in separate Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.

At the same time, Israeli forces deepened their incursion and bombardment of the northern edge of the enclave, their main offensive since early last month.

A spokesperson for Hamas said a female Israeli prisoner in the group’s custody had been killed in a northern area under attack by Israeli forces.

“The life of another female prisoner who used to be with her remains in imminent danger,” spokesperson Abu Ubaida added, blaming the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An Israeli military spokesperson said it was investigating the Hamas report.

Depopulating area

Local residents say they fear the Israeli goal is to permanently depopulate a strip of territory as a buffer zone, something Israel denies.

At Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern edge of Gaza that is barely operational, director Hussam Abu Safiya said the ongoing Israeli bombardment in the area appeared aimed at forcing hospital staff to evacuate — something they have refused to do since the incursion began.

The 13-month attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza killed more than 44,000 people and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population at least once, according to Gaza officials.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2024