Israel renews airstrikes in Beirut’s suburbs as border clashes escalate

Beirut: Israeli warplanes launched intense bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, striking residential areas and igniting fires that continued to burn into the morning, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The raid targeted a building nestled between the neighbourhoods of Al-Laylaki and Al-Mrayjeh. Residents awoke to billowing smoke and flames, the aftermath of what local officials described as more than 30 separate strikes overnight.

Israel’s extensive attacks, which began on September 23, have now expanded beyond Hezbollah strongholds, Xinhua news agency reported.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, claimed the strikes were aimed at “Hezbollah’s combat equipment and terrorist structures in the Beirut area.” The Israeli military did not provide evidence to support these assertions.

As dawn broke, the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border renewed. Intense clashes erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli ground forces in border villages.

Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the confrontation began around 1 am local time (2200 GMT on Saturday), involving machine guns, artillery, and rockets.

Hezbollah claimed to have repelled an Israeli infiltration attempt, inflicting casualties. By morning, Israeli forces had reportedly withdrawn behind the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, though artillery fire continued to shake the region.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours alone have killed 23 people and wounded 93 across various regions of the country.

IANS