Black smoke and flames rise over the Dahieh area after the Israeli army carried out airstrikes south of the capital Beirut, Lebanon, October 3, 2024. Photo source: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Israeli forces continued their overnight airstrikes on Beirut, with at least six people killed and seven others wounded after a strike on a medical center in the central Bachoura district, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, as reported by The Guardian.
The medical center belonged to the Islamic Health Organization, linked to Hezbollah. This is the second time downtown Beirut has been targeted since Israel began its bombing campaign weeks ago. The area also houses the Lebanese parliament and the UN regional headquarters.
The Lebanese health ministry stated, “Two people were killed instantly,” with the death toll later rising to six after four others succumbed to their injuries.
The strike followed a series of bombings in southern Beirut suburbs, marking the third round of Israeli raids on Hezbollah’s stronghold outside Beirut within the last 24 hours, which has been consistently targeted for over ten days.
Israeli forces also issued a new evacuation order for southern Beirut areas overnight, warning of potential strikes against Hezbollah as the group claims to resist Israeli advances in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese health ministry announced that 46 people were killed and 85 injured in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours in multiple regions of the country. The Lebanese crisis center reported earlier that 1,928 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023.
A Hezbollah civil defense official told AFP that the raid “targeted the civil protection center of the authority” in the Bachoura district, in the heart of the Lebanese capital.
This is the second Israeli strike to hit central Beirut since the start of the conflict between the Iranian-backed Islamist movement and Israel on October 8, 2023.
