Israeli warplanes launch ‘violent’ strike on Beirut suburb

By Wassim Saifuldine

BEIRUT (AA) – Israeli warplanes struck a residential apartment in the southern suburb of Beirut Tuesday evening, according to Lebanese media.

State news agency NNA said a “violent” strike targeted the area near al-Zahraa Hospital in al-Jnah neighborhood.

Billows of smoke were seen rising from the area and ambulances rushed to the site.

No details were yet available about casualties or the target of the attack.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,057 people and injuring over 2,950 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah commanders have been killed in the assault, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli army said early Tuesday that it started “limited and targeted” ground operations 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 more than 41,600 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.