Israeli airstrikes, launched without warning, killed at least 15 people in Lebanon’s capital early Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
The strikes, which occurred around 4 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, were the fourth against central Beirut in less than a week. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 63 people were wounded in the strikes. Several missiles flattened an eight-story building in the capital. The number of victims is expected to increase as aid groups and emergency service providers try to locate people.
Amin Chirri (Sherri), a member of parliament representing Hezbollah, said there had been no Hezbollah leaders in the now leveled building, according to Reuters.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to provide comment to Newsweek when contacted on Saturday afternoon. Newsweek has reached out to Lebanon’s Health Ministry for comment via email on Saturday.
In late September, Israel launched a ground military operation into Lebanon, pushing northward in an effort to dismantle Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group with ties to Hamas.
The expansion of the war came almost a year after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed around 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent incursions in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
Hezbollah supported Hamas’ attack and has engaged in rocket fire and border clashes with Israel. Also in late September, Israeli forces took out longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has killed several other top leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas over the past year.
AP Photo/Hussein Malla
Israel’s operation into Lebanon has led to the displacement of more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon, widespread instability, and has killed more than 3,645 people and injured over 15,000, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It is unclear how many Israelis Hezbollah has killed, with the AP approximating around 90 soldiers and 50 civilians.
Customary international humanitarian law requires parties to give effective advance warning to civilians in affected areas to minimize harm and casualties. The AP reported that Saturday’s attack occurred without warning.
In a previous comment to Newsweek in October, a spokesperson for the IDF said, “The IDF has been carrying out major efforts to prevent civilian casualties, including issuing warnings and notices prior to attacks, and pursuing additional measures with protected sites, such as medical institutions. Those warnings are issued in accordance with international humanitarian law, and are done in an accurate manner, and according to operational considerations.”
The latest strike comes as cease-fire talks have stalled. U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited Beirut on Tuesday and Israel on Wednesday in an effort to seal the negotiations for a two-month cease-fire, which would push Hezbollah and Israel out of the southern border area and instead station the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers there.
Israeli officials have demanded the agreement provides them the right to strike Hezbollah.
Israel also carried out strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least five people according to Reuters.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.