7 paramedics killed in Israeli airstrike in Lebanese capital

By Wassim Seif El Din

BEIRUT (AA) – Seven paramedics with the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority were killed in an Israeli strike on a civil defense center in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Thursday, the emergency medical service said.

The victims included the head of the Civil Defense Service in Beirut, Raja Zreik, in the late-night attack that targeted Zqaq el-Blat neighborhood of Beirut, the service added in a statement.

The Israeli army launched a new wave of airstrikes in Beirut and its southern suburb on Thursday amid its massive aerial campaign on Lebanon.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army carried out "precise" strikes on Beirut, but gave no further details.

Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 on what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,100 victims and injured over 3,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The top leadership of the Lebanese group Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli army confirmed Wednesday that eight soldiers were killed in ground clashes with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,700 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar