An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb killed 37 people, including Hezbollah members and two of its senior commanders, escalating the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
An Israeli airstrike on Friday targeted a Hezbollah gathering in a Beirut suburb, killing at least 37 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Among the dead were three children and seven women, alongside 16 Hezbollah members, including two senior leaders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi. Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of Aqil, described as a top leader, and Wahbi, who oversaw military operations during the Gaza war earlier this year.
The Israeli military stated that the strike hit an underground meeting of senior Hezbollah commanders, severely crippling the group’s military leadership. The strike is considered one of the deadliest since the escalation of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese transport minister Ali Hamieh reported that 23 people remain missing following the strike, as rescue teams continue efforts to pull survivors from the rubble. “The Israeli enemy is taking the region to war,” Hamieh said, speaking to reporters at the scene.
The escalation follows two days of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah’s communications systems, which reportedly destroyed devices used by the group’s members. The attacks, believed to be carried out by Israel, have resulted in a death toll of 39 and over 3,000 injuries. Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for the continued assaults.
As tensions intensify, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reaffirmed their resolve to push forward with military actions in the north. “The sequence of actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Gallant said in a statement.
The ongoing conflict, which has now claimed over 740 lives in Lebanon since October, has sparked concern of a broader war. The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert, called for an immediate end to the violence, warning of the “devastating consequences” for the region.
The recent escalation has raised fears that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the worst since the 2006 war, could spread beyond the border areas, with heavy airstrikes from Israel continuing in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah launching rocket attacks into northern Israel.
Did Israel just NUKE Lebanon? pic.twitter.com/hyKvkcpNmg
— Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) September 21, 2024
