Israeli airstrike kills 4, injures several in Central Beirut near key govt buildings

Mangalore Today News Network

Lebanon, November 19, 2024: Four people were killed and at least 24 others sustained injuries in a fresh Israeli airstrike in Beirut as the US pressed ahead with cease-fire efforts.

The unusual and unprecedented airstrike occurred in a part of Beirut close to several Lebanese government buildings not affiliated with Hezbollah and foreign diplomatic buildings.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, where local UN headquarters and Lebanon’s parliament and prime minister’s office are located.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not made any official statement regarding the recent strike but has targeted more high-risk locations in Lebanon in response to additional Israeli casualties from ambushes by terrorist groups and rocket and drone attacks on civilian areas.

The escalating actions by Israel have led some commentators to suggest that this could put pressure on the Lebanese government to accept more of Israel’s conditions for a ceasefire. Overall, the IDF has successfully removed Hezbollah’s weapons from certain regions within four to five kilometers of the southern Lebanon border.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a monthlong pause. On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman. Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias.

US envoy heads to Beirut

Meanwhile, United States envoy Amos Hochstein is expected in Beirut on Tuesday, according to two Lebanese official sources, in what is seen as a sign of progress in ceasefire negotiations for the deadly cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The news comes after Beirut responded “positively" to a US-backed proposal to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, per Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Makati. Speaking to Al Araby TV news channel on Monday, Makati said the Lebanese government had been seeking clarification on some “unclear points" in the ceasefire proposal, but that large parts of the draft agreement were resolved.

On Monday, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles against Israel. A rocket that hit the northern Israeli city of Shfaram killed one woman and injured 10, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.

More than 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli fire, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. In Israel, 77 people, including 31 soldiers, have been killed by Hezbollah projectiles, while over 50 soldiers have been killed in the Israeli ground offensive.

Israel has said it is targeting Hezbollah in order to ensure that thousands of Israelis can return to their homes near the border.