People gather in front of a damaged building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Beirut’s Mar Elias street, Lebanon November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
BEIRUT, (Reuters) – An Israeli drone strike hit a neighborhood in central Beirut on Monday, a Lebanese security source said, the second day in a row that a target within the Lebanese capital has been struck as Israel presses its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Smoke was seen rising from the location of the strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat area, a short distance from the central Beirut district where the Lebanese government is headquartered. The casualty toll was not immediately clear.
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Since Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in late September, the bulk of its airstrikes in the Beirut area have targeted the group’s strongholds in the southern suburbs.
But on Sunday, Israel hit targets in the Beirut city limits for the first time in more than five weeks, killing 10 people in two separate strikes, including Hezbollah’s top media official.
Israel has dealt big blows to Hezbollah since late September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes, and sending troops into southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into northern Israel, where sirens sounded again on Monday.
In Israel at least six people were wounded on Monday when a rocket struck a building in the northern Israeli Arab town of Shfaram, Israel’s ambulance service said. One woman was still trapped in the building, it said.
The Israeli military said about five projectiles had been fired from Lebanon.