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.



Israeli Colonel Killed in Combat in Northern Gaza

An Israeli army tank maneuvers near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
An Israeli army tank maneuvers near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
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Israeli Colonel Killed in Combat in Northern Gaza

An Israeli army tank maneuvers near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
An Israeli army tank maneuvers near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

A 41-year-old Israeli colonel was killed, and another officer was wounded in combat in northern Gaza on Sunday, the Israeli military said.

Israel's Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan reported an explosive device had gone off under a tank.

Meanwhile, officials in Gaza said rescuers were still recovering people from the rubble after an Israeli attack that killed dozens.

At least 87 people were dead or missing following the air strike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza late on Saturday, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory said, one of the highest death tolls for months from a single attack. Israel said it was investigating reports of the incident.

It marked an intensification of Israel's offensives against Hamas in Gaza.