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.



Lebanese Army Says 3 Soldiers Killed in Israeli Strike

Smoke rises as a result of explosions in the southern Lebanese village of Blida, as seen from northern Israel, 20 October 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Smoke rises as a result of explosions in the southern Lebanese village of Blida, as seen from northern Israel, 20 October 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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Lebanese Army Says 3 Soldiers Killed in Israeli Strike

Smoke rises as a result of explosions in the southern Lebanese village of Blida, as seen from northern Israel, 20 October 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Smoke rises as a result of explosions in the southern Lebanese village of Blida, as seen from northern Israel, 20 October 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

The Lebanese army said Sunday that three soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in southern Lebanon.

There was no immediate comment on that from the Israeli military, which said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past day and continued ground operations there.

Lebanon’s army has largely kept to the sidelines in the war.

Israel's military said that Hezbollah fired more than 170 rockets into the country on Sunday. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said that three people were slightly injured from a fire sparked by a rocket attack on the northern city of Safed.

Israel has increased strikes on southern neighborhoods of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh.