Israel-Lebanon Latest: ‘At Least 37 Killed’ In Beirut By Israeli Strike Which Left Hezbollah Leader Dead

Moment of explosion in Lebanon as Hezbollah radio devices detonate

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emails

At least 37 people were killed by an Israeli strike in a densely populated area of Beirut on Friday, Lebanese authorities said.

Israel says two Hezbollah leaders were among the dead, including Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s operations commander, and Ahmed Wahbi, a senior commander. Up to 68 were injured, Lebanon said.

Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, according to the US State Department.

On Saturday in Gaza, dozens of people including children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

At least 22 people, including 13 children and six women, were killed in the attack while using the building as a shelter, the ministry added.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas command centre embedded in the building previously used as a school.

Footage from the site showed blasted walls, wrecked and burnt furniture, and holes in the ceiling of one room. Witnesses said children were in the playground.

1726984825‘Sequence of actions in new phase will continue until our goal is achieved’, warns Israeli defence ministerThe Israeli defence minister has warned that his country’s new phase of war “will continue until our goal is achieved”.

Yoav Gallant, who said this week Israel was launching a new phase of war on the northern border, posted on X on Friday: “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.”

Tens of thousands of people have left their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in October in sympathy with Palestinians in Gaza.

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 07:00

1726984757Lebanon fires over 100 rockets into Israel, targets near northern city of HaifaOver 100 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon early today, with some landing near the northern city of Haifa, as Israel and the Hezbollah militant group appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions. The rockets streaked over a wider and deeper area of northern Israel than previous volleys and set off air raid sirens across the region. The Israeli military said rockets had been fired “toward civilian areas,” pointing to a possible escalation after previous barrages had mainly been aimed at military targets. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated four people for shrapnel wounds, including a 76-year-old man who was moderately wounded near Haifa, where buildings were damaged and cars set on fire. It was not immediately clear if the damage was caused by a rocket or an Israeli interceptor. The barrage came after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed at least 37 people, including one of Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as women and children. Hezbollah was already reeling from a sophisticated attack that caused thousands of personal devices to explode just days earlier.

Arpan Rai22 September 2024 06:59

1726983489BREAKING: Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after group’s retaliationIsrael‘s military said it is striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after the Lebanese group’s initial response to deadly remote explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies days earlier.

This comes shortly after more than 100 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon early today, with some landing near the northern city of Haifa, as Israel and the Hezbollah militant group appeared to be spiralling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.

Arpan Rai22 September 2024 06:38

1726983337Israel raids and shuts down Al Jazeera’s bureau in RamallahIsraeli troops raided the offices of the satellite news network Al Jazeera in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early today, ordering the bureau to shut down amid a widening campaign by Israel targeting the Qatar-funded broadcaster as it covers the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera aired footage of Israeli troops live on its Arabic-language channel ordering the office to be shut for 45 days. It follows an extraordinary order issued in May that saw Israeli police raid Al Jazeera’s broadcast position in East Jerusalem, seizing equipment there, preventing its broadcasts in Israel and blocking its websites.

The move marked the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet operating in the country. However, Al Jazeera has continued operating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, territories that the Palestinians hope to have for their future state.

There was no immediate acknowledgement of the shutdown by Israeli forces.

Al Jazeera denounced the move as it continued broadcasting live from Amman in neighbouring Jordan.

Arpan Rai22 September 2024 06:35

1726983044Hezbollah, Israel exchange heavy fire after deadly Israeli strikeIsrael and Lebanon exchanged heavy fire in the early hours today, with Israeli warplanes carrying out the most intense bombardment in almost a year of war across Lebanon’s south.

Hezbollah has claimed rocket attacks on military targets in Israel’s north.

The Israeli military said it struck around 290 targets yesterday, including thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels and said it would continue to strike targets of the Iran-backed movement.

Israel closed schools and restricted gatherings in many northern areas of the country and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights early this morning.

Sirens sounded all night as multiple rockets and missiles were fired from Lebanon and Iraq, most of which were intercepted by Israeli aerial defence systems, the military said.

Israeli media reported that a number of buildings were hit directly or by falling missile debris, and ambulance services said they treated some lightly injured people. No serious casualties were reported.

Hezbollah said it targeted the Israeli Ramat David Airbase with dozens of missiles in response to “repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon”, the group posted on its Telegram channel early today.

The successive barrages of rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah at Ramat David are the deepest strikes it has claimed since hostilities began.

Iran-backed Iraqi militants in a statement also claimed an explosive drone attack on Israel early today.

Arpan Rai22 September 2024 06:30

1726981225Israel braces for retaliationHezbollah has said it will keep fighting Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in its war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza – triggered by a Hamas-led rampage in southern Israel on 7 October.

US officials say that is unlikely anytime soon. Israel wants Hezbollah to cease fire and withdraw forces from the border region, adhering to a UN resolution signed with Israel in 2006, irrespective of any Gaza deal.

Anticipating retaliation, the Israeli military restricted gatherings and raised the alert level for residents of northern communities. The alert went as far south as the coastal city of Haifa, signalling Israel thought Hezbollah could strike deeper than it had since the war with Hamas began.

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 06:00

1726977625David Lammy considers plans to evacuate Britons from Lebanon as Israel conflict escalatesDavid Lammy is looking at contingency plans to evacuate UK nationals from Lebanon as tensions rise in the Middle East.

The foreign secretary has already urged Brits to leave the country amid the conflict with Israel.

Ministers are keen to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes three years ago when as Britons attempted to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country.

Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 05:00

1726974025US national security adviser concerned about escalation in Israel-Hezbollah conflictUS national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said he is worried about escalation but that the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah leader brought justice to the group, which Washington designates terrorists.

“While the risk of escalation is real, we actually believe there is also a distinct avenue to getting to a cessation of hostilities and a durable solution that makes people on both sides of the border feel secure,” Sullivan told reporters.

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 04:00

1726970437What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s HezbollahThis week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — deadly attacks pinned on Israel that also maimed civilians around Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate, and on Friday the militant group launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel. Later in the day, Israel said it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s most elite unit with a strike in Beirut that Lebanese authorities say left at least 37 dead.

Lee Keath reports:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 03:00

1726966837What is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group hit in ‘double tap’ pager attacks?Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged intense rounds of rocket fire and airstrikes after the Lebanese militant group was targeted by an attack which caused their communication devices to explode.

In an unprecedented attack, pagers used by the group were simultaneously detonated on Tuesday, sparking widespread panic in Beirut and southern Lebanon. The following day, walkie-talkies were also remotely detonated across the country.

The total death toll in those attacks has risen to 39, and more than 3,000 were injured.

My colleagues Tom Watling and Andy Gregory report:

Tara Cobham22 September 2024 02:00