Photos show the aftermath of Israel's 'targeted strike' in Beirut following explosive pager attacks
An Israeli airstrike on a neighborhood in Beirut killed at least 12 people and injured dozens of others on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said, according to the Associated Press.
Israel’s military announced it conducted a “targeted strike” in Beirut. The AP reported the operation targeted Ibrahim Akil, a senior Hezbollah military official, but there has been no official confirmation that he was killed in the strike.
Photographers on the ground captured medical crews and rescuers treating the injured and removing dead bodies surrounded by damaged buildings in Beirut.
Israel’s airstrike on Friday came after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, fired more than 100 rockets at northern Israel earlier on Friday, some of which were intercepted by its air defenses.
Earlier this week, pager devices exploded across Lebanon in what appeared to be a coordinated attack on Hezbollah fighters. Dozens of people were killed and thousands of others were injured. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, blamed Israel, but Israel has thus far not commented on the attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described Israel’s war in the Middle East region as entering a “new phase.” Nasrallah vowed to retaliate, saying that “retribution will come.”
The attacks have renewed fears that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is spilling over into the wider Middle East.
President Biden on Friday said that the U.S. is continuing to pursue a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“We're continuing to try to do and we’ve tried from the beginning to make sure that both the people in northern Israel, as well as southern Lebanon, are able to go back to their homes and go back safely,” Biden said to press during a Cabinet meeting. “The secretary of state, the secretary of defense, our whole team is working in the intelligence community to try to get that done.”
