Israel strikes south Beirut, toppling 11-storey building

AFP | Beirut

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Israeli air strikes hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold yesterday and crumpled an 11-storey building, official media reported and AFP images showed, after Israeli military evacuation warnings.

The latest raids follow intense Israeli attacks in recent days on south Beirut as well as other areas in Lebanon’s south and east, where Israel says it has been targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Israeli strikes yesterday also hit south Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) said, as the Israeli military issued warnings for part of the coastal city of Tyre and swathes of nearby areas, as well as several other locations in the country’s south.

The state-run NNA said Israeli warplanes launched strikes on two buildings just inside Beirut’s southern suburbs, near the centre of the capital. An AFP photographer captured the moment a missile struck the middle of an 11-storey building housing shops, a gym and apartments, located on a usually busy street in the heavily populated Shiyah district.

The impact sparked a fireball and caused the structure to collapse on top of itself, littering the road with debris. The NNA reported people fled an adjacent neighbourhood after Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee warned on social media platform X that the military would strike “Hezbollah facilities and interests” in Shiyah.

The NNA earlier yesterday reported several other Israeli strikes on south Beirut, adding that “thick smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the Lebanese University” in the Hadath neighbourhood. AFPTV footage showed plumes of smoke over the southern suburbs.

The Israeli military said in a statement its “fighter jets completed a new round of strikes” on Beirut’s southern suburbs. The NNA said that for the first time, Israeli troops yesterday entered the village of Deir Mimas, around 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the border.