At least 22 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes that hit two different neighborhoods in central Beirut on Thursday evening.
At least 22 people were killed and around 100 others injured in Israeli airstrikes that hit two different areas of central Beirut on Thursday evening, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
An Associated Press photographer who visited the site of the strikes said the first, in the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood, appeared to have hit the lower half of an eight-story apartment building, and that explosions were occurring inside the building. A large number of ambulances arrived at the scene.
The second strike, in the Burj Abi Haidar area, caused an entire building to collapse, which was engulfed in flames.
The Israeli army did not immediately issue a statement. In recent weeks, Israel has launched frequent strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, but strikes in the center of the Lebanese capital are rare.
Deadly strike in Gaza, peacekeepers injured in Lebanon
Earlier in the day, an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in the Gaza Strip killed at least 27 people, according to Palestinian medical officials. The Israeli military said it was targeting activists, but those sheltering said the strike hit a meeting of aid workers.
Separately, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers. The attack was widely condemned and prompted the Italian Defense Ministry to summon Israel’s ambassador in protest.