The death toll from an Israeli air attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs has risen to 37 people, including three children and seven women, Lebanon’s health minister says.
The strike, which wrecked two buildings in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiya district during rush hour on Friday, also injured more than 60 people, Health Minister Firass Abiad told a news conference on Saturday.
The three children killed were aged four, six and 10, according to Abiad. Emergency personnel was still searching for 17 people under the rubble.
“[The rescue operation] could continue for another day or so,” Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari reported from Beirut.
“There is still a sense of shock and fear,” she added. “Many of the shops in this area are closed, there are very few people present as many have chosen to pack up and leave.”
Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh told Al Jazeera Arabic that the bombing of a residential building constituted a “war crime” and that Israel was “dragging the region into a war”.
Israel’s military said it carried out a “targeted strike” against senior members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in the Beirut suburb. An Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday that “at least 16 Hezbollah militants” were killed in the attack.
Hezbollah confirmed that two of its top commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmad Mahmoud Wahabi, along with 12 other members, were killed. In July, an Israeli air strike killed Fuad Shukr, the group’s top military commander.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Lebanon had entered a “decisive” phase after the attack on the residential suburb, telling a news conference on Saturday that everything must be done to prevent further violations of Lebanese territory and avoid further deterioration of the security situation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel was committing “shameless crimes” against children, not fighters. He also called for “inner strength” among Muslims to eliminate the “malignant cancerous tumour” from Palestine.
Friday’s air attack on the densely populated area followed explosions of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was also blamed on Israel and killed at least 39 people while wounding close to 3,000 others.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army reported on Saturday it was “striking targets” of Hezbollah in northern Lebanon, with Israeli media reporting the army was launching dozens of strikes on Saturday afternoon.
“Israeli officials say they have launched at least 80 raids on weapons installations belonging to Hezbollah and in turn, Hezbollah launched at least 45 rockets on northern Israel,” Jabbari reported from Beirut.
“This exchange is the most intense since the two sides started engaging in cross-border fire on October 8, a day after Israel began its latest war on Gaza,” she added.
What’s going to happen next?
Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said the city is on edge after the latest attacks, which mark a new chapter in the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah that had so far been confined to border regions.
“The big conversation across Lebanon is what’s going to happen next. People here aren’t really concerned about what Hezbollah does next. They are worried about what Israel is going to do next,” he added.
The Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past week have serious implications for international law, said Ibrahim Fraihat, professor of international conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
“What we are seeing in Lebanon takes the disrespect of international humanitarian law to a [new] level,” Fraihat told Al Jazeera. “These violations are being normalised by the silence of the West.”
He warned that the escalation of tensions in Lebanon was bound to divert attention from Gaza, allowing for more human rights violations to take place there.
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said of the Beirut strike that “Israel knew that there would be civilian casualties and it went ahead and did it anyway.”
“And that’s what the Lebanese are saying, that, once again, Israel is acting with absolute immunity.”
Top Israeli officials have given indications they are indeed for fiercer conflict with the Lebanese group, which has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since October 7, that could stretch deeper into Lebanese territory.
“Our goals are clear; our actions speak for themselves,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after Friday’s strike.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant added: “We will continue pursuing our enemies in order to defend our citizens, even in Beirut.”
Nearly a year into its war on Gaza, Israel believes it can deal serious damage to the Lebanese group by “doubling down”, according to Al Jazeera’s Basravi.
“They think that forcing Hezbollah through monstering them with military strikes, in multiple areas, on multiple fronts, of varying ferocity, will force it to make some kind of tactical retreat,” he added.
