Israel strikes Beirut again: at least 19 dead in Lebanon
Israel has launched new air strikes on Lebanese territory, including a residential building in central Beirut, killing at least 19 people, Al Jazeera reports.
According to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), seven people were killed and five wounded in the Tamnin al-Tahta area of Baalbek district in Wednesday morning's strikes.
Three more people were killed when an Israeli drone attacked a car in the Saf al-Hawa area of Bint Jbeil in the south of the country.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health also reported that seven people were killed and 11 wounded in night-time strikes on the town of Al-Shahabiya.
In addition, according to Lebanese media reports, one person was killed in the city of Nabatieh and another in Zlaya in the Bekaa Valley.
A separate strike hit a multi-storey residential building in the Aisha Bakkar neighbourhood in central Beirut. According to Al Jazeera journalists, the attack may have been an attempt to eliminate a specific target, but this has not been officially confirmed.
It is reported that part of the building was destroyed and several apartments caught fire. Many residents were injured and hospitalised.
Local residents say that the area was considered relatively safe and was not known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Against the backdrop of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the number of casualties in Lebanon is growing. According to the country's Ministry of Health, at least 570 people have been killed and another 1,444 injured since the start of the new wave of attacks.
The fighting has also led to a sharp increase in the number of internally displaced persons — according to Lebanese government estimates, about 780,000 people have left their homes.
At the same time, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon in response.
International organisations are calling on the parties to the conflict to de-escalate. UN representative Stéphane Dujarric stressed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities, as hundreds of thousands of civilians are caught in the zone of active combat.
