BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, – Overnight and early Sunday, Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs in the heaviest bombardment since Israel intensified its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah last month.
Explosions echoed through the Lebanese capital, lighting up the sky with flashes of red and white that were visible for nearly 30 minutes from miles away.
The strikes left a trail of destruction across the city’s southern suburbs, with columns of smoke rising from the rubble-covered streets on Sunday morning. Witnesses described the bombardment as the largest of the ongoing Israeli assault on Beirut so far. “Last night was the most violent of all the previous nights. Buildings were shaking around us, and at first, I thought it was an earthquake. There were dozens of strikes—too many to count—and the sounds were deafening,” said Hanan Abdullah, a resident of the Burj al-Barajneh area.
Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed damage to the highway running from Beirut’s airport through its southern suburbs into the city center.
The Israeli military confirmed its air force had carried out targeted strikes on “weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the area of Beirut.” Lebanese officials have not yet provided details on the specific targets hit or the extent of the damage.
This weekend’s intensified bombardment coincides with the anniversary of the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel, which left approximately 1,200 people dead and over 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s recent strikes across Lebanon and its ground operations in the south of the country are aimed at Hezbollah, Iran’s primary ally in the region.
The year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has resulted in over 2,000 deaths, with most casualties occurring in the last two weeks, according to figures from the Lebanese health ministry. On Saturday alone, 23 people were reported killed in Israeli strikes.
The United Nations’ refugee chief has criticized the Israeli airstrikes, stating that there have been “many instances” of violations of international law, citing attacks on civilian infrastructure and loss of civilian lives. Israel, however, maintains that its strikes are aimed at military targets and that it takes measures to minimize harm to civilians. Israeli officials accuse both Hezbollah and Hamas of using civilian areas as shields, a claim the groups deny.
For the past few weeks, Israel has repeatedly bombed Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah in Beirut that also houses thousands of ordinary Lebanese citizens, as well as Palestinian and Syrian refugees. Among those killed was Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, on September 27.
A Lebanese security source reported on Saturday that Hashem Safieddine, considered a potential successor to Nasrallah, had been unreachable since an Israeli airstrike on Thursday near Beirut’s international airport, allegedly targeting him. The area around the strike remains under Israeli bombardment, making it difficult for rescue operations to proceed.
Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine’s status, but his potential loss would represent another setback for the group and its patron Iran, as Israeli strikes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah’s leadership over the past year.
Ongoing Conflict with Gaza and Cross-Border Tensions
The violence in Lebanon comes amid Israel’s broader war against Hamas in Gaza, which began following the October 7 attacks. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities, with the coastal enclave left in ruins. The Israeli military reported striking a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza on Sunday, resulting in at least 26 deaths and 93 injuries. Israel stated the targets were “Hamas terrorists.”
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel shortly after the October 7 attacks, aligning itself with Hamas. Although initial exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah were limited to the border region, the conflict has sharply escalated in recent weeks.
Israel has increased its military operations in Lebanon, aiming to create conditions for the safe return of citizens who had been displaced by Hezbollah’s rocket fire into northern Israel since last October. Israeli authorities reported that nine of its soldiers have died in southern Lebanon during the recent fighting.
On Sunday, air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel as rockets were intercepted from Lebanese territory, according to the Israeli military.
While Iran has indicated a preference to avoid direct confrontation with Israel, it has launched retaliatory strikes on occasion. Last Tuesday, Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel, though they reportedly caused little damage. Israeli officials are currently evaluating their response options.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media announced on Sunday that all flights from Iranian airports would be suspended until 6 a.m. local time on Monday due to unspecified “operational restrictions.” It remains unclear whether the announcement is linked to the ongoing regional conflict.
As tensions rise across the region, the international community watches closely, concerned about the potential for further escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed groups in Lebanon and Gaza.
Source: Reuters
