The death toll from the massacre committed by Israel, at dawn on Saturday, in the Basta area near the center of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, rose to 15 dead and 63 wounded, while clashes raged in several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Lebanese News Agency said that Beirut woke up today to a horrific massacre, as Israeli warplanes completely destroyed an 8-story residential building on Al-Mamoun Street in the Basta area after bombing it with 5 missiles.
The Israeli bombing also damaged a large number of buildings surrounding the ill-fated building, according to the same source.
While the work of removing rubble in the collapsed building has been continuing for hours, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported in a statement that the death toll had risen to 15 dead and 63 injured, without mentioning the severity of the injuries.
The previous official death toll was 11 dead and 23 wounded.
There is no Hezbollah leader in the building
In Israel, the official broadcasting authority claimed, citing an unnamed security source, that the raid on the Basta area targeted the prominent leader of Hezbollah, Muhammad Haidar, without confirming his death.
However, a Lebanese security source confirmed to Tel Aviv Tribune that there is no truth to the presence of a Hezbollah leader in a building targeted by an Israeli raid in the Basta area in Beirut.
The party’s parliamentarian, Amin Sheri, also said in a statement to reporters during his visit to the site of the ill-fated building that there was no party figure in the targeted building in Beirut.
Sherri added, in statements reported by the party’s Al-Manar channel, that Israel’s goal in such attacks on Beirut is to intimidate and shock the people.
In addition to the bombing of the Basta area, 4 Israeli raids last night targeted several areas in the southern suburb and its surroundings, including Al-Ghobeiry, Al-Shiyah, and Bir Al-Abd, resulting in the destruction of residential buildings, according to the Lebanese agency.
The agency indicated that a fire broke out as a result of the ignition of diesel tanks after an Israeli raid targeted electrical generators on Al-Masbagha Street in Chiyah.
Removing rubble in the town of Shamstar
Today, Saturday, Lebanese media broadcast scenes documenting the operations to remove rubble from a house that was targeted by an Israeli raid in the town of Shamstar, Baalbek district, east of the country.
Scenes broadcast by the media, via the X platform, showed Civil Defense members continuing to work in removing the rubble and searching for survivors under the rubble of the targeted house.
For its part, the Lebanese News Agency reported on its official website that the initial toll indicates that 7 martyrs were recovered from under the rubble, while rescue work and the removal of rubble are still continuing until now.
Video: Rubble removal work continues #Shamstar After targeting a 3-story building and recovering 7 victims so far pic.twitter.com/2zuxHvZmQs
– Voice of Lebanon 100.3 100.5 (@sawtlebnan) November 23, 2024
Clashes in several areas
On the other hand, Hezbollah announced that it confronted an Israeli force that attempted to infiltrate the town of Deir Mimas in the Marjayoun District in the Nabatieh Governorate in southern Lebanon, killing and wounding its members.
The party said in a statement that after monitoring the movements of an Israeli enemy army force trying to infiltrate the town of Deir Mimas on Saturday morning, its fighters clashed at close range with the infiltrating force on the western outskirts of the town, with machine guns and rockets.
The party also announced that it had bombed Safed and the Kiryat Shmona settlement, and Israeli Channel 12 reported that air defenses intercepted a missile in the sky of the city of Safed in the Upper Galilee.
Meanwhile, clashes are raging in several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, and Hezbollah has confirmed that it is engaged in ongoing clashes with an Israeli force that tried to advance towards the town of Bayyada, and confirmed that it has caused deaths and injuries among its ranks.
He also confirmed that he fought clashes in tents and targeted for the fourth time a gathering of Israeli forces, causing deaths and injuries among their ranks.
Hezbollah broadcast images of its fighters being targeted with missiles and drones at the Sharaga base of the Israeli occupation army, located between Nahariya and Akka in northern Israel.
Iranian-made missiles
On the other hand, the Israeli army said that it found launch pads for Iranian-made missiles directed at Israel in Mount Hermon and the Shebaa Farms.
He added that he raided several Hezbollah sites and targets in the southern suburb during the past 24 hours.
The army added in a statement that the raids targeted Hezbollah’s headquarters, weapons depot, and infrastructure, and that these attacks aimed to weaken the party’s ability to carry out attacks against Israel.
The Israeli aggression against Lebanon resulted in a total of 3,645 dead and 15,355 wounded, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1,400,000 displaced persons. Most of the victims and displaced persons were recorded after September 23, according to Anatolia’s monitoring of official Lebanese data announced until the evening. Friday.
Hezbollah responds daily with missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites and settlements, and while Israel announces some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes a strict blackout on most of the losses, according to observers.
