Five Israeli missiles have pounded a residential building in the tightly-packed Basta neighborhood of Beirut, leaving large destruction and multiple civilian casualties. The Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon reported Saturday that at least 11 people were killed, and 63 others were injured in the attack.
Rescue teams and volunteers are desperately searching for survivors among the rubble, using heavy machinery to remove pieces of debris. The grim process of identifying remains continues, and officials said a full count of the dead will require DNA testing.
The National News Agency, NNA, called the incident a “horrific massacre,” in which it described an eight-story building on Al-Mamoun Street having been completely destroyed. Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi said the powerful strikes also severely damaged buildings nearby, the fourth such Israeli attack in central Beirut this week. He added that this is part of an alarming trend of multistrikes into the most heavily populated area without warning.
The explosions, which happened at approximately 4 a.m. local time, were said to involve at least four bombs. Rescue crews and paramedics still attend to the site, facing an unfriendly environment as they seek out any remaining survivors.
Traditionally, Israeli military actions have targeted the southern Beirut suburbs, which have been considered solid territory of Hezbollah supporters. On Sunday, an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammad Afif in the Ras al-Nabaa district of Beirut, whereas previous strikes last Friday on southern Beirut resulted in the collapse of an 11-story building.
In a related development, Israeli military services also handed new forced displacement orders to the residents in neighborhoods of southern Beirut, particularly Al-Hadath, Choueifat, and el-Aamroussieh. The Arabic spokesperson for the military, Avichay Adraee, communicated through social media that residents are near Hezbollah facilities slated for future operations.
Israel often conducts attacks without prior warning, occasionally issuing alerts only minutes before a strike. Many of these notifications have occurred late at night, leaving residents vulnerable.
The Ministry of Public Health reported that Israeli operations in southern Lebanon had resulted in the deaths of five healthcare workers on Friday. The WHO mentioned the growing number of deaths-226 health workers and patients in Lebanon have been killed since October of the previous year when the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified. At least 3,645 people have been killed and 15,355 wounded in Israeli strikes throughout Lebanon since the war in Gaza started.
