Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Israel carried out at least three air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after issuing evacuation orders.

Israel said its air force attacked Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground workshop for the production of weapons in Beirut.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its fighter jets killed three Hezbollah commanders, including Alhaj Abbas Salameh, a senior figure in the group's southern command, Radja Abbas Awache, a communications expert, and Ahmad Ali Hussein, who it said was responsible for strategic weapons development.
It was not clear if the three were killed in the attack on the headquarters or in separate actions.

A day earlier, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in Beirut's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke hanging over the city into the evening.

The strikes targeted "a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command center,” Israel's military said.

Israel had issued evacuation orders for four separate neighborhoods within the suburbs, urging residents to get 500 meters away, but carried out strikes in other areas as well, witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs - once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations - since Israel began regular strikes there about three weeks ago.

An Israeli air attack on Sept. 27 killed Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, and strikes nearby have killed other top figures from the Iran-backed group.



87 People Killed or Missing in Northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya

Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes lie on the ground at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip in this still image taken from a video, October 20, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes lie on the ground at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip in this still image taken from a video, October 20, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
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87 People Killed or Missing in Northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya

Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes lie on the ground at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip in this still image taken from a video, October 20, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes lie on the ground at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip in this still image taken from a video, October 20, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS

A total of 87 people were killed or missing under the rubble after an Israeli attack on Saturday on northern Gaza's town of Beit Lahiya, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

More than 40 others were injured, it added.

The Israeli military said they were checking the report.

It said the figures did not align with its own information, the precise munitions used or the accuracy of the strike, which it said was directed at a Hamas target.
Palestinian health officials said rescue operations were being hampered by the cut-off of telecommunication and internet services for a second day. Earlier in the day, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli military strikes killed 35 Palestinians across the enclave.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 42,603 Palestinians and wounded 99,795, the Gaza health ministry said.