Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut, security sources say

BEIRUT: A powerful Israeli airstrike targeted central Beirut early on Saturday, security sources said, shaking the Lebanese capital as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Several powerful blasts shook Beirut at around 4 am (0200 GMT), Reuters witnesses said. At least four rockets were fired in the attack, two security sources said.

Sirens could be heard as ambulances raced to the scene of the blast in Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood.

Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.

It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hezbollah media official in the Ras al-Nabaa district.

Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by the Gaza war, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

The conflict began when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas after it launched the Oct 7 2023 attack on southern Israel.