Israeli strike in central Beirut kills at least 9

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut. Pics/AFP

Lebanon's Health Ministry Thursday said that at least nine people were killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut, as it is also running DNA tests on remains they have obtained to identify others. Hezbollah said that seven paramedics and rescue workers from its medical arm the Islamic Health Committee were killed in the strike that hit its office in Bashoura. The Health Ministry said 14 others were wounded in the strike early Thursday.

Prior to the attack, the ministry said that 55 people were killed and 156 others were wounded in Israeli strikes over Lebanon on Wednesday. The frequent strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs as well as occasional strikes in central Beirut have exacerbated Lebanon's displacement crisis.

Buildings targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Moawwad, southern Beirut

The government estimated days ago that some one million people are currently displaced in the cash-strapped country. Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who is spearheading the government's response efforts to the war, said 1,67,000 Syrians left Lebanon over the past 24 hours.

Senior Hamas leader killed earlier this year

The Israeli military said Thursday that an airstrike on an underground compound in northern Gaza killed senior Hamas leader Rawhi Mushtaha and two other Hamas commanders, Sameh Siraj and Sameh Oudeh. The fortified underground compound served as a command center. Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of Hamas who helped mastermind the October 7, 2023, attack.

Israel extends evacuation warnings

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of villages and towns in southern Lebanon that are north of a United Nations-declared buffer zone established after the 2006 war. The warning issued Thursday signalled a possible broadening of Israel's incursion into southern Lebanon, which until now has been confined to areas near the border.

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