Massive consecutive strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early on Sunday, Reuters eyewitnesses said, sending booms across the Lebanese capital and sparking flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometres away.
Smoke rises from shops, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon, October 6, 2024. Reuters
Massive consecutive strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early on Sunday, Reuters eyewitnesses said, sending booms across the Lebanese capital and sparking flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometres away.
Israel said its air force had "conducted a series of targeted strikes on a number of weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the area of Beirut".
The Israeli military said that before the strike, it took steps "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including advancing warnings to the population in the area".
Israel has been expanding its actions in Lebanon.
On Saturday, it made its first strike in the northern city of Tripoli, a Lebanese security official said, and Israeli troops launched raids in the south.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that Israel had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters in its ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah has not released death tolls.
Israel says it stepped up its assault on Hezbollah to enable the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last Oct. 8.
By Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence that an agreement could soon be reached to end the Iran war and urged the Tehran-aligned Hezbollah group to hold its fire as a 10-day truce went in to effect between Lebanon and Israel.
Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber on Thursday said his government had good meetings this week with the International Monetary Fund and remained committed to working toward a lending program.
A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday and President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.