Israel hits Beirut again in second day of strikes

A Lebanese security source said an Israeli strike hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold on Tuesday, with the Israeli army also saying it had carried out a strike, a day after hitting the same area.

“An Israeli strike targeted two floors in a residential building in the Ghobeiri area,” the security source said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss sensitive matters.

The Israeli military said it had struck the Lebanese capital but did not immediately give further details.

“The IDF (military) conducted a targeted strike in Beirut. Details to follow,” it said.

An AFP photographer at the site of the strike said the strike had destroyed two floors of a building located in a densely-packed residential area, also damaging nearby cars.

On Monday, Israel said it had launched a “targeted strike” on Beirut.

Hezbollah said Ali Karake, its third-in-command, was alive and had moved to safety after a source close to the group told AFP the strike had targeted him.

Hezbollah and its arch-foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted last October.

But on Monday, Israel launched devastating strikes across Lebanon’s south and east, killing more than 550 people according to the Lebanese health ministry — the deadliest single-day toll since Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006.

The attacks came after coordinated communications devices explosions that killed 39 people and wounded thousands on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

Those were followed by a deadly strike on Friday on south Beirut, with leading Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil among the dead.

© Agence France-Presse