Lebanon has seen another horrific 24 hours, with Israeli airstrikes killing at least 105 people and injuring 359 others, according to health officials. Air assaults were reported throughout Lebanon on Sunday and into Monday.
The targets included a hit in the heart of the capital, Beirut, for the first time in years, signaling further potential escalation into an all-out war.
While Israel claimed to have bombed dozens of Hezbollah targets, Lebanese officials said that the bombardments hit residences and structures in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, the Baalbek-Hermel governorate, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Lebanese MPs referred to the assaults as a “massacre”. On Monday morning, an Israeli strike was reported near the Kola bridge region of central Beirut.
The bombing was Israel’s first attack within the capital’s city limits since the start of the hostilities last year, and is seen as another escalation of the conflict
The bombardment of municipal Beirut shows that the Lebanese capital, which was previously thought to be a safe haven from Israeli attacks, is now under fire, along with much of the rest of the country.
According to Lebanese news outlets, at least three persons were murdered during the assault. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an armed group active in Lebanon and Gaza, said the trio were among its members.