Israeli Strike In Lebanon Kills Seven, Says Health Ministry

At least seven people were killed and 21 others wounded after an Israeli strike hit the seafront area of central Beirut early Thursday, Lebanon’s health ministry said, as hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah intensified.

“The Israeli enemy strike on Ramlet al-Bayda in Beirut led to an initial toll of seven dead and 21 wounded,” the ministry said in a statement.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike targeted a car along the seaside road in the Ramlet al-Bayda district, sending smoke rising over the waterfront as emergency crews rushed to the scene.

The attack marked the third strike in the heart of the capital since the conflict escalated, with Israel also carrying out repeated air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area considered a stronghold of Hezbollah.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had conducted strikes overnight on Beirut’s southern suburbs, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, including intelligence sites, command centres and missile launchers.

Lebanese state media also reported Israeli strikes in several towns in southern Lebanon, including Taybeh, al-Sultaniyya and Qana near the city of Tyre.

Hezbollah said early Thursday that it had launched missiles at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, part of what the group described as a major new operation against Israel.

Lebanon has been increasingly drawn into the wider regional conflict following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes, prompting retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah against Israeli targets.

Lebanese authorities say Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 630 people and displaced more than 800,000 others across the country, with many civilians seeking shelter in public buildings or sleeping in tents and open areas, including along Beirut’s coastline.

Late Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron, president of France, called on Israel to halt its ground offensive in Lebanon and urged Hezbollah to immediately stop its attacks after speaking with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.