Israel attacks central Beirut for the first time since October 8, killing four people

BEIRUT

Four people were killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut on Monday. This was the first such attack in the Lebanese capital since the conflict with Hezbollah began last October, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Four other people were injured in the attack in Beirut's Kola district, the ministry added in a statement.

According to an Anadolu correspondent, an Israeli drone targeted an apartment on the fifth floor of a building on the road that connects Beirut to Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The strike caused a fire in the apartment, which was brought under control by the fire department.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) confirmed that three of its leaders were killed in the attack: Mohammed Abdel Aal, Politburo member and head of the Military and Security Department; Imad Ouda, the military commander in Lebanon, and Abdel Rahman Abdel Aal, whose position was not disclosed.

Israeli warplanes also launched new airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.

According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, the army said it had carried out an attack in Beirut and attacked Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley, without giving further details.

The Lebanese state news agency NNA reported for the first time new air strikes on the El-Buss refugee camp near Tire in southern Lebanon. Hamas said Fateh Sharif, the group's commander in Lebanon, as well as his wife, daughter and son were involved in the attack.

According to the NNA, Israeli fighter jets also bombed the Islamic Health Authority center in the Bekaa town of Sohmor, and ambulances rushed to evacuate the wounded.

Overnight, Israeli warplanes bombed the towns of Ebba and the area between Zebdine and Choukine in southern Lebanon.

The airstrikes coincided with the arrival of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on Sunday evening for talks with Lebanese officials.

Late Sunday, Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that 21 people were killed and 125 injured in Israeli airstrikes in the southern districts of Tire and Bint Jbeil.

Since September 23, Israel has launched its fiercest and most comprehensive attack on Lebanon since cross-border clashes with Hezbollah began nearly a year ago.

According to Lebanese authorities, the ongoing attacks have claimed at least 916 lives, including women and children, and injured 2,709 others.

Fears of a larger regional war have increased following Israel's assassination of several Hezbollah leaders, particularly the group's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah.

He was killed on Friday evening in an airstrike in which Israel reportedly dropped 85 tons of bombs on a target in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut.

Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting cross-border wars since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, after a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7 last year.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a larger regional war.

*Writing from Mohammad Sio in Istanbul

The Anadolu Agency website contains only part of the news offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), in aggregate form. Please contact us for subscription options.