The Israeli Army claims that it attacked the headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut in a series of huge explosions aimed at the leader of the political-paramilitary group, which destroyed six residential buildings in what was one of the largest attacks that Lebanon has suffered in recent months.
At least six people died and 91 were injuredreported the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was targeted in attacks on the group’s headquartersaccording to high-level US Army sources on condition of anonymity.
Israeli forces declined to comment on who he was attacking. It is currently unknown whether Nasrallah was at the scene, and Hezbollah did not comment on the report.
The death toll is likely to rise significantly as rescue teams still sift through the rubble of six buildings. Israel launched a series of attacks against other areas of the southern suburbs after the initial outbreak.
Israel did not immediately comment on what type of bomb or how many it used, but the resulting explosion leveled an area larger than a city block. The Israeli army has remote-controlled bombs in its arsenal.Bunker Buster” weighing 907 kilograms, American-made and specially designed specifically to reach underground targets.
Ceasefire seems distant
After the attacks, the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly interrupted a visit to the United States to return to his country. Hours earlier, he spoke before the UN and promised that the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah —which has intensified in the last two weeks—further dimming hopes for an internationally backed ceasefire.
News of the explosions came just as Netanyahu was briefing reporters after his speech to the UN. A military aide whispered in his ear, and Netanyahu quickly ended the meeting.
The series of explosions reduced six apartment towers to rubble in Haret Hreik, a densely populated and predominantly Shia (Muslim) district of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburbs, according to the Lebanese national news agency.
A column of black and orange smoke rose into the sky as windows shook and houses swayed about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.
Footage showed rescuers climbing up large slabs of concrete, surrounded by mountains of twisted metal and debris.
AP
Attack, a war crime: Iran
Iran described yesterday’s Israeli bombings against Beirut as a “war crime” committed with “American bombs.”
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Naser Kananí, stated that the attack is “a clear war crime” carried out with “bombs donated by the American regime to the Zionist regime,” the state agency IRNA reported.
“The American regime is complicit with the Zionist regime and must be held accountable,” said the diplomat.
Kananí also considered that the continuous attacks against the people of Palestine and Lebanon show that the calls for a ceasefire by the United States and some Western countries “are a clear deception.” with the aim of buying time for the continuation of the crimes.”
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said the bombings represent “a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game.”
CT