Israel airstrikes hit southern Beirut cutting off key crossing into Syria

Israel carried retired different bid of punishing airstrikes Friday, hitting suburban Beirut and cutting disconnected the main borderline crossing betwixt Lebanon and Syria for tens of thousands of radical fleeing the Israeli bombardment of the Hezbollah militant group.

The overnight blasts successful Beirut’s confederate suburbs sent immense plumes of fume and flames into the nighttime entity and shook buildings kilometers (miles) distant successful the Lebanese capital. Additional strikes sent radical moving for screen successful streets littered with rubble successful the Dahiyeh neighborhood, wherever astatine slightest 1 gathering was leveled and cars were burned out.

The Israeli subject said it targeted Hezbollah’s cardinal quality office astir midnight. It did not accidental who it was aiming for oregon if immoderate militants were killed successful that strike, but it claimed to person killed 100 Hezbollah fighters successful the past 24 hours.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported much than 10 consecutive airstrikes successful the area. Some 1,400 Lebanese, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, person been killed and immoderate 1.2 cardinal driven from their homes since Israel escalated its strikes successful precocious September aiming to cripple Hezbollah and propulsion it distant from the countries’ shared border.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched astir 100 rockets into Israel connected Friday, the Israel subject said.

The Israeli subject besides said that a onslaught successful Beirut the time earlier killed Mohammed Rashid Skafi, the caput of Hezbollah’s communications division. The subject said successful a connection that Skafi was “a elder Hezbollah violent who was liable for the communications portion since 2000” and was “closely affiliated” with high-up Hezbollah officials.

Thursday’s onslaught on the Lebanon-Syria border, astir 50 kilometers (30 miles) eastbound of Beirut, led to the closure of the roadworthy adjacent the engaged Masnaa Border Crossing — the archetypal clip it has been chopped disconnected since Hezbollah and Israel began trading occurrence astir a twelvemonth ago.

Israel said it targeted the crossing due to the fact that it was being utilized by Hezbollah to transport subject instrumentality crossed the border. It said combatant jets had struck a passageway utilized to smuggle weapons from Iran and different proxies into Lebanon.

Hezbollah is believed to person received overmuch of its weaponry done Syria from Iran, its main backer.

Associated Press video footage showed 2 immense craters connected each broadside of the road. People got retired of cars, incapable to pass, carrying bags of their possessions arsenic they crossed connected foot. More than 250,000 Syrians and 82,000 Lebanese person fled crossed the borderline into Syria during the escalation of the past 2 weeks. There are a half-dozen crossings betwixt the 2 countries, and astir stay open.

Israel launched its crushed escalation successful Lebanon connected Tuesday, and its forces person been clashing with Hezbollah militants successful a constrictive portion on the border. Israel has vowed to enactment an extremity to Hezbollah occurrence into bluish Israel, aft astir a twelvemonth of exchanges betwixt the 2 sides that drove tens of thousands of radical from their homes connected some sides of the border. Israeli strikes implicit the past 2 weeks killed immoderate of Hezbollah’s cardinal members, including longtime person Hassan Nasrallah.

On Thursday, Israel warned radical to evacuate communities successful confederate Lebanon, including areas beyond the buffer portion declared by the United Nations aft Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong warfare successful 2006.

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Friday that the crushed operations were limited, aimed astatine rooting retired Hezbollah militants and making the borderline harmless for bluish residents of Israel to instrumentality to their homes,

“First of all, our ngo is to marque definite they’re (Hezbollah) not there,” Shoshani said. “Afterwards we volition speech astir however we marque definite they don’t travel back.”

Nine Israeli troops person been killed successful adjacent warring successful the area, which is saturated with arms and explosives, the subject said.

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Two much soldiers were killed and 2 were severely wounded by a drone onslaught successful bluish Israel, subject officials said.

An umbrella radical of Iranian-backed militias successful Iraq calling itself the Islamic Resistance successful Iraq said it carried retired 3 drone strikes Friday successful bluish Israel. In caller months, the radical has regularly claimed drone strikes launched astatine Israel, but the strikes person seldom landed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was successful Beirut connected Friday to conscionable Lebanese officials, warned that if Israel carries retired an onslaught connected Iran, Tehran would retaliate much powerfully than it did this week erstwhile it launched astatine slightest 180 missiles into Israel successful retaliation for Israeli strikes connected Hezbollah.

The rocket barrage amid a bid of rapidly escalating attacks has threatened to propulsion the Middle East person to a regionwide war.

“If the Israeli entity takes immoderate measurement oregon measurement against us, our retaliation volition beryllium stronger than the erstwhile one,” Araghchi said aft gathering Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri.

In the Iranian capital, Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers and delivered a code successful which helium praised the country’s rocket strikes connected Israel and said Iran was prepared to behaviour much strikes if needed.

He spoke to thousands of radical astatine Tehran’s main supplication site, the Mosalla mosque, which was decorated with a immense Palestinian flag.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel the time aft Hamas’ onslaught connected confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, successful which the militants killed 1,200 radical and took 250 others hostage. Since then, Israel’s run successful Gaza successful retaliation has killed much than 41,000 Palestinians, conscionable implicit fractional them women and children, according to section wellness officials.

Meanwhile, Israel carried retired its deadliest onslaught successful the occupied West Bank since the Gaza warfare began, hitting a cafe successful the Tulkarem exile camp. At slightest 18 Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Relatives said a household of four, including 2 children, were among the dead. The Israeli subject said respective Hamas militants were killed, including the group’s person successful the camp.

The Israeli subject said Friday that militants successful Gaza fired 2 rockets into Israeli territory, the archetypal clip Israel has seen rocket occurrence from the territory successful a month.

The subject said 1 of the rockets was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense strategy and the different fell successful an unfastened country adjacent a kibbutz crossed the borderline from Gaza.