Fire and smoke erupt from a building just after an Israeli air strike on south Beirut © – / AFP
Israeli air strikes hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold on Friday and crumpled an 11-story building, official media reported and AFP images showed, after Israeli military evacuation warnings.
The latest raids follow intense Israeli attacks in recent days on south Beirut as well as other areas in Lebanon’s south and east, where Israel says it has been targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Israeli strikes on Friday also hit south Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) said, as the Israeli military issued warnings for part of the coastal city of Tyre and swathes of nearby areas, as well as several other locations in the country’s south.
The state-run NNA said Israeli warplanes launched strikes on two buildings just inside Beirut’s southern suburbs, near the center of the capital.
An AFP photographer captured the moment a missile struck the middle of an 11-storey building housing shops, a gym and apartments, located on a usually busy street in the heavily populated Shiyah district.
The impact sparked a fireball and caused the structure to collapse on top of itself, littering the road with debris.
The NNA reported people fled an adjacent neighbourhood after Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee warned on social media platform X that the military would strike “Hezbollah facilities and interests” in Shiyah.
The NNA earlier Friday reported several other Israeli strikes on south Beirut, adding that “thick smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the Lebanese University” in the Hadath neighbourhood.
AFPTV footage showed plumes of smoke over the southern suburbs.
The Israeli military said in a statement its “fighter jets completed a new round of strikes” on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah attacks
The NNA said that for the first time, Israeli troops on Friday entered the village of Deir Mimas, around 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the border.
“Enemy reconnaissance aircraft” were flying over Deir Mimas, which has been largely emptied of residents, warning people “not to leave their homes”, the NNA reported.
Hezbollah said its fighters targeted Israeli troops in the area with rockets and artillery.
The Israeli army has been seeking to advance at several points along the border, most prominently in the town of Khiam, where Hezbollah said it repeatedly attacked troops on Friday.
More than 11 months of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the Gaza conflict escalated into all-out war in September, with Israel conducting an extensive bombing campaign, primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds, and sending ground troops into southern Lebanon.
The pace of the strikes has increased since US envoy Amos Hochstein, seeking an end to the war, completed a visit to the country earlier this week.
AFP/FRANCE24