Israel’s military said it launched an airstrike in the Beirut area Thursday as a Lebanese source said an apartment was hit, the second such raid since an April ceasefire announcement.<\/p>\n
The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday, and for US-brokered talks early next week — the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2.<\/p>\n
After heavy strikes that Lebanese authorities said killed at least 14 people including three children, Israel’s military said it “precisely struck in Beirut”, without identifying the target.<\/p>\n
A Lebanese military source, requesting anonymity, told AFP that “an Israeli strike targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area”.<\/p>\n
AFPTV footage showed smoke rising from the area on the edge of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.<\/p>\n
An AFP correspondent said the first two floors of a residential building were damaged, and saw residents packing cars and leaving.<\/p>\n
It was the second Israeli strike on south Beirut since a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah that was supposed to have taken effect on April 17 but has never been observed.<\/p>\n
Both sides accuse each other of violating it and justify their attacks by the other’s alleged truce breaches.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah on Thursday claimed several attacks with rockets and drones on Israeli troops in south Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers Kandice Ardiel told AFP that last month’s agreement “had a positive effect in lessening the violence, but (we) have seen an escalation in recent weeks, and an intense escalation in recent days”.<\/p>\n
The force said in a statement that “Wednesday saw around 670 projectiles fired — the highest level since 17 April”.<\/p>\n
– ‘Cultural landmarks’ –<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Israel’s military declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River — around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border and including the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh — to be “combat zones” and told residents to evacuate.<\/p>\n
This week, Israel vowed to ramp up operations in Lebanon and said it was expanding ground operations there.<\/p>\n
On Thursday afternoon Israel’s military issued another evacuation warning for swathes of Tyre and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
Israeli airstrikes hit Tyre and Sidon, both southern cities, early Thursday, AFP correspondents said.<\/p>\n
AFP footage showed a fireball followed by smoke as a strike hit a building in Tyre’s archaeological district.<\/p>\n
Resident Ghazouane Halawani told AFP he believed Israel wanted to attack the ancient city’s “history and its civilisation”.<\/p>\n
“We’re staying here. This is our country, our land, our life,” he added.<\/p>\n
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said on X that he had begun “intensive diplomatic contacts” after Israeli attacks on Tyre struck “its historic old neighbourhoods, churches, mosques, and cultural landmarks that have stood resilient for thousands of years”.<\/p>\n
– Israeli soldier killed –<\/p>\n
Lebanon’s health ministry said a strike in Tyre killed two Syrians including a child, and another in Sidon killed five people, including two women.<\/p>\n
An AFP correspondent said the Sidon raid destroyed the first two floors of a residential building.<\/p>\n
The ministry said another strike hit a vehicle in south Lebanon’s Adloun, killing six people “including two children, their mother and their father”.<\/p>\n
Lebanon’s military said another strike killed a soldier “while he was driving” in the Nabatieh region.<\/p>\n
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) also reported Israeli strikes in other areas of south Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Israel’s military said a soldier was killed on Wednesday by a Hezbollah drone near the border.<\/p>\n
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli attacks, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.<\/p>\n
Iran has insisted any agreement to end the broader conflict must apply to Lebanon.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the United States and Iran accused each other of violating their ongoing truce following an exchange of fire.<\/p>\n
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