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Lebanon: Death Toll from Friday Israeli Strike on Beirut Southern Suburbs Rises to 45

Rescuers sift through the rubble at the scene of an Israeli strike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier, as search and rescue operations continue on September 21, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Rescuers sift through the rubble at the scene of an Israeli strike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier, as search and rescue operations continue on September 21, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Lebanon: Death Toll from Friday Israeli Strike on Beirut Southern Suburbs Rises to 45

Rescuers sift through the rubble at the scene of an Israeli strike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier, as search and rescue operations continue on September 21, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Rescuers sift through the rubble at the scene of an Israeli strike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier, as search and rescue operations continue on September 21, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that the death toll from Friday’s Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs rose to 45.
Israel carried out a deadly airstrike in Beirut on Friday killing tens of people, including one of Hezbollah's top leaders as well as women and children. Hezbollah was already reeling from a sophisticated attack that caused thousands of personal devices to explode just days earlier.
The Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours, hitting some 400 militant sites, including rocket launchers. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said those strikes had thwarted an even larger attack.
Early on Sunday, Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as the sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.

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How Do Libyans Remember Gaddafi’s Rule 13 Years After his Death?

Muammar Gaddafi (Archive Photo)
Muammar Gaddafi (Archive Photo)
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How Do Libyans Remember Gaddafi’s Rule 13 Years After his Death?

Muammar Gaddafi (Archive Photo)
Muammar Gaddafi (Archive Photo)

Tough living conditions have prompted some Libyans to feel nostalgic about the era of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, seeing it as a time of security. However, others remember the oppression and executions that characterized his 42-year rule.

This divide in views on Gaddafi—who was killed and displayed in a refrigerator in Misrata—remains strong among his supporters and opponents, even 13 years after his death.

Opponents of Gaddafi blame his regime for Libya’s current political crises and difficult living conditions.

Abdel Raouf Betalmal, a leader in the Libya Al-Namah party, said discussions about Gaddafi evoke sadness among many Libyans, who regret not benefiting from the country’s oil wealth during his rule.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Betalmal stated that Gaddafi “left no significant development or major projects, nor did he nurture political talent. Instead, he drained Libya in every way, leaving little for Libyans to remember positively.”

Responding to those who argue that goods were affordable and available during Gaddafi’s time, Betalmal criticized this view, saying they overlook his role in the spread of weapons, as he opened his stockpiles in the final months of his rule to try to suppress the uprising against him.

Libyan political analyst Hussein Al-Suwaidi, a supporter of Gaddafi, believes several reasons lead Libyans to remember and mourn the late leader. He points to a sense of national sovereignty as a key factor.

“Within months of the September 1 Revolution in 1969, British and US forces were expelled from Libya, along with over 30,000 Italians who controlled much of the agricultural land,” Al-Suwaidi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The analyst also criticized the belief that nostalgia for Gaddafi’s era is mainly about low food prices.

“While that's true, there was also an increase in average income during his time,” he stated.

He noted that Gaddafi’s legacy is still relevant today, as many ministers in the rival governments of eastern and western Libya are recognized as former officials in his regime.

Al-Suwaidi argues that this counters claims that Gaddafi ignored leadership development and education.