Israel launches 3 airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs

BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes on Friday afternoon launched three airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburb, with two targeting the al-Hadath-Laylaki area and a third at the vicinity of Al-Rayah Stadium, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the airstrikes hit residential buildings that were already emptied by recent violent strikes and that the targets were impossible to determine.

The strikes took place after an Israeli aircraft in the morning targeted civil defense teams who were working to remove rubble and retrieve the injured. The airstrike killed a member of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Authority and wounded several others, according to a statement by Hezbollah's media office.

The group called on the Lebanese government and international institutions to condemn this "barbaric act," which violates all humanitarian norms and international law, and to act to allow humanitarian teams to carry out rescue duties, the statement said.

At midnight on Thursday, Israeli warplanes launched their most intense bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs in weeks, destroying residential blocks around Al-Mreijeh, Hadi Nasrallah Highway, and al-Hadath, the NNA said.

Israeli media reports said the strikes were targeting Hashem Safieddine, the most prominent candidate to succeed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27.

The fate of Safieddine, head of Hezbollah's executive council, was unclear, and neither Israel nor Hezbollah has offered any comment on the midnight strikes.

Israel has recently intensified airstrikes on Beirut and its suburbs, mainly targeting Hezbollah officials and facilities. At the same time, it has launched what it describes as a "limited" ground operation into Lebanon.

Israel's escalations further fuel its ongoing clashes with Hezbollah that started on Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, triggering Israeli retaliatory fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.