Israel escalates Beirut bombing, says it hit Hezbollah ‘command center’

Jerusalem — 

Fighting raged connected 2 fronts Sunday arsenic Israel targeted what it said was a Hezbollah "command center" successful the Lebanese capital, portion successful Gaza rescuers reported 73 radical killed successful a azygous airstrike.

The strikes connected Hezbollah's southbound Beirut stronghold came aft Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Iran-backed radical of attempting to assassinate him by targeting his residence.

It besides came arsenic Israelis marked the large weeklong Jewish vacation of Sukkot, which past twelvemonth saw the October 7 Hamas onslaught that sparked the Gaza war.

Lebanon's authoritative National News Agency, NNA, said Israel's strikes connected Beirut deed a residential gathering successful Haret Hreik adjacent a mosque and a hospital.

The Israeli subject said it deed a "command halfway of Hezbollah's quality headquarters" and underground weapons installation successful Beirut, and that it besides killed 3 Hezbollah militants successful different strikes.

It aboriginal said astir 70 projectiles fired from Lebanon crossed into Israel wrong a substance of minutes, and that it intercepted immoderate of them.

Gaza's civilian defence bureau meantime said an Israeli aerial onslaught connected a residential country killed astatine slightest 73 Palestinians successful Beit Lahia successful the territory's north.

"Our civilian defence crews recovered 73 martyrs and a ample fig of wounded arsenic a effect of the Israeli aerial unit targeting a residential area... successful Beit Lahia successful bluish Gaza," said civilian defence bureau spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.

The Israeli subject said it struck a "Hamas panic target." It added that the toll figures fixed by Gaza authorities "do not align" with the accusation it possessed. Hamas and Hezbollah person been designated violent organizations by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others.

The subject pressed its offensives successful some Gaza and Lebanon, wherever it said its forces "struck astir 175 panic targets."

The subject said it continued to run successful northern, cardinal and confederate parts of Gaza.

"The troops eliminated dozens of terrorists during close-quarter encounters connected the crushed and aerial strikes" crossed Gaza, it said.

'Grave mistake'

In confederate Lebanon, NNA aboriginal said Israeli strikes had targeted dozens of locations, including the metropolis of Nabatiyeh for the 3rd clip this week.

The subject said it "struck and eliminated implicit 65 Hezbollah terrorists ... and struck dozens of Hezbollah panic targets" successful confederate Lebanon.

On Saturday, Netanyahu's bureau said a drone was launched toward his residence successful the cardinal municipality of Caesarea, but helium and his woman were distant and determination were nary casualties.

"The effort by Iran's proxy Hezbollah to assassinate maine and my woman contiguous was a sedate mistake," the premier curate said.

"Anyone who tries to harm Israel's citizens volition wage a dense price," helium said successful comments directed astatine Tehran and "its proxies," which see Lebanon's Hezbollah, a radical Israel has been astatine warfare with since precocious September.

Since then, the warfare has killed astatine slightest 1,454 radical successful Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese wellness ministry figures.

The Lebanese group, equipped and financed by Iran, did not admit the attack, but precocious connected Saturday Iran's ngo to the United Nations said "this enactment was taken" by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah connected Saturday said it launched rocket barrages astatine Israel's north, wherever rescuers said 1 antheral was killed by shrapnel.

Hamas, Hezbollah and allied Iran-backed groups successful the portion person vowed to support warring aft Israeli troops connected Wednesday killed the Palestinian movement's person Yahya Sinwar successful Gaza, much than a twelvemonth into the warfare triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel that killed 1,200 radical and led to the seizure of astir 250 hostages. Israel's counteroffensive successful Gaza has killed much than 42,400 Palestinians, with much than fractional of them women and children, according to Gaza wellness officials. The Israeli subject says the decease toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters.

"Hamas is simply a world successful Palestine that nary 1 tin ignore, nary 1 tin destroy," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

Israel has vowed to respond to Iran's October 1 attack, successful which Tehran said it had fired 200 missiles astatine its arch-foe successful effect to the sidesplitting of an Iranian wide and Hezbollah main Hassan Nasrallah.

'Every time a massacre'

Civil defence spokesperson Bassal said "we person recovered much than 400 martyrs from the assorted targeted areas successful the bluish Gaza Strip," including Jabalia and its exile camp, since Israel's cognition began.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli subject said it was looking into the civilian defence agency's reports from Gaza, including that an overnight aerial raid connected Jabalia killed 33 people.

"More than a twelvemonth has passed, and each time our humor is shed," displaced Gazan Nasser Shaqura said extracurricular a infirmary successful Deir el-Balah, wherever victims of an Israeli aerial onslaught were taken.

"Every day, each hour, determination is simply a massacre," helium said. "This is what our lives person become."