Army targets Hezbollah command centers, weapons sites in strikes on Beirut suburbs
Death toll in Lebanon at 570, authorities say; IDF boosts troop presence in north, more reinforcement may come amid terror group's rocket and drone attacks
Israel launched new waves of airstrikes in Lebanon overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday, striking Hezbollah targets while ramping up its troop presence in northern Israel, amid continuing rocket and drone attacks by the terror group.
One wave of airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight and Wednesday targeted Hezbollah command centers and weapon storage sites, the military said.
The IDF also said it had struck a Hezbollah command center in the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre on Tuesday.
Four people were wounded in an Israeli strike targeting an apartment in central Beirut overnight, the Lebanese health ministry said. Earlier reports had said four were killed.
Unusually, the latter strike took place in central Beirut, and not in the Hezbollah Dahiyeh stronghold in the city’s southern suburbs, where the IDF urged residents to evacuate.
Footage showed heavy damage to two floors of the apartment building in the Aicha Bakkar neighborhood, and smoke rising from the structure.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Lebanese media and health authorities reported at least 17 dead and dozens wounded in further Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday morning.
In the town of al-Shahabiya, in the Tyre District, Israeli strikes “resulted in the martyrdom of seven citizens and the injury of 11 others,” Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.
In the eastern Beqaa Valley, the ministry said, a strike in the town of Tamnin al-Tahta killed seven and wounded 18, while in the town of Ali al-Nahr, another five were wounded.
The state news agency reported that three more people were killed in a strike in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon early Wednesday morning.
The IDF has not yet commented on the morning strikes.
They were followed, according to Lebanese reports, by a further wave of attacks in Dahiyeh around 11 a.m., which came after the IDF reiterated an evacuation warning for the area, saying it would target Hezbollah sites.
Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah after the terror group opened fire on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Israeli strikes so far have killed 570 people in Lebanon, and uprooted 700,000 more, according to Lebanese authorities.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Wednesday that of those killed, 439 were men, 45 were women, and 86 were children. It did not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The toll includes 14 healthcare workers, the ministry said.
Hezbollah’s rockets and drone attacks, meanwhile, have continued, with several drone infiltrations setting off sirens in Israel’s north on Wednesday.
At least one drone was intercepted after setting off sirens in the Golan Heights.
The IDF has warned that Hezbollah will likely attempt to increase the rate of the attacks amid the renewed fighting.
IDF bolstering troops in Israel’s north, may reinforce further
The IDF said it was bolstering troops in northern Israel amid the ongoing fighting.
Following a fresh assessment, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the Golani Brigade sent from the Southern Command to the Northern Command, the military said.
“Subsequently, and in accordance with a situation assessment, it will be decided whether to reinforce with additional forces,” the IDF added.
Agencies contributed to this report.