Israel strikes heart of Beirut, killing at least six

Israel bombed Beirut early on Thursday, killing at least six people, after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“Another sleepless night in Beirut. Counting the blasts shaking the city. No warning sirens. Not knowing what’s next. Only that uncertainty lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are omnipresent,” UN special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said on X on Thursday.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called for serious ceasefire efforts to stop Israel’s “aggression” in Lebanon and said no peace was possible in the Middle East without the creation of a Palestinian state.
What is happening in the Middle East is a “collective genocide” he said, adding that his country has always warned of Israel’s “impunity”.
Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud blasts were heard, Lebanese security officials said.
HOUTHIS TARGET TEL AVIV
The elimination of Nasrallah dealt a major blow to the movement and removed Iran’s most powerful proxy in the Middle East.
Hezbollah and Iran’s other regional allies, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq, have launched attacks in the region in support of Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza.
The Houthis, who have been carrying out attacks in shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea that have disrupted international trade, said on Thursday they attacked Israel’s commercial capital Tel Aviv with drones.
“The operation achieved its goals successfully by the arrival of the drones without being detected or shot down by the enemy,” the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.
Israel said it intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the area of central Israel early on Thursday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) urged residents of Lebanese villages who have evacuated their homes not to return until further notice.
“IDF raids are continuing,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X on Thursday.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said about 1.2 million Lebanese had been displaced by Israeli attacks.
‘IRAN’S AXIS OF EVIL’
A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, Israel said on Wednesday eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbour.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units joined ground operations in Lebanon on Wednesday as Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s promise of retaliation fanned concern of a wider conflict in the oil-producing Middle East.
Israel’s addition of infantry and armoured troops from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armoured Brigade and 6th Infantry Brigade, indicated that the operation is expanding beyond limited commando raids.
Israel’s previous incursions and invasions into Lebanon have proven costly, with Hezbollah putting up fierce resistance, killing and kidnapping soldiers and carrying out bombings.