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Israeli forces carried out at least 10 airstrikes on southern Beirut late Thursday, according to Lebanese sources. This assault followed Israel’s deadliest military operation in the occupied West Bank in decades.
The intensifying Israeli assaults come as the country considers retaliatory measures following a missile barrage from Iran. The United States has indicated that targeting Iranian oil facilities is among the options Israel is weighing.
Iran claimed the attack was in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures aligned with Tehran.
The bombardment of Beirut by Israeli forces showed no signs of slowing, as AFP correspondents in the capital and nearby regions reported powerful blasts that shook structures.
Late Thursday, the military carried out 11 consecutive strikes on Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, a source familiar with the group told AFP. The official National News Agency (NNA) reported the number as more than 10.
The Israeli military said it hit “targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut”.
Israel’s bombing in Lebanon has killed more than 1,000 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in a nation already mired in economic and political crisis.
Read also: Israel Warns Lebanese Residents To Evacuate For Wider Offensive
“We are peaceful civilians in our homes,” said Hassan Ammar, 82, who had been staying in a building whose walls were partly blown out by a strike in Beirut after he fled south Lebanon.
Another strike late Thursday targeted a warehouse adjacent to the capital’s airport, a source close to Hezbollah said.
Meanwhile, a source within the Palestinian security services told AFP that an air raid on the refugee camp of Tulkarm, killing 18 people, was the deadliest in the occupied West Bank since 2000.
The Israeli military said its strike in the northern West Bank killed Hamas leader Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, who it accused of participating in numerous attacks.
Alaa Sroji, a social activist from the area, said an Israeli warplane had “hit a cafeteria in a four-story building”.