Israeli strikes on a central Beirut medical centre have killed at least six people, Lebanon says, after Israel’s military suffered its deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hizbullah.
Residents in Beirut heard a missile flying above the city before hearing the sound of the explosion. Videos showed the floor of an apartment building burning. Residents living in nearby areas began to flee, driving away quickly in scooters and cars.
The Israeli strike hit a medical centre belonging to the Hizbullah-linked Islamic Health Organisation in the early hours of Thursday.
The attack was the second air strike on central Beirut this week, with most strikes having previously been confined to suburbs in the city’s south.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was targeting Beirut and issued evacuation warnings for various locations throughout the night.
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Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said.
At least six people were killed and seven wounded, Lebanese health officials said, adding that a further 46 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on the city in the previous 24 hours.
A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, Israel said on Wednesday eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbour.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units joined its ground operations in Lebanon on Wednesday as Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s promise of retaliation raised concerns the Middle East could be caught up in a wider conflict.
Hizbullah said its fighters engaged Israeli forces inside Lebanon. The movement reported ground clashes for the first time since Israeli forces pushed over the border on Monday. Hizbullah said it had destroyed three Israeli tanks with rockets near the border town of Maroun El Ras.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a condolence video, said: “We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran’s axis of evil, which wants to destroy us.
“This will not happen because we will stand together and with God’s help, we will win together,” he said.
Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley – its biggest ever assault on Israel – was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.
US president Joe Biden said he would not support any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to its ballistic missile attack and urged Israel to act “proportionally” against its regional enemy.
Mr Biden joined a call with other Group of Seven major power leaders to co-ordinate a response, including new sanctions against Tehran, the White House said.
G7 leaders voiced “strong concern” over the Middle East crisis but said a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one's interest, a statement said.
China called on the United Nations Security Council to take “urgent actions” to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
The Israeli military has said its incursion is largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting the Beirut to the north or major cities in the south.
Nevertheless, it issued new evacuation orders for around two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing inhabitants to head north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60km (40 miles) north of the Israeli frontier.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.
In Gaza, Palestinian officials say more than 70 people were killed by Israeli attacks on Wednesday, including in Israeli strikes on a school and an orphanage sheltering displaced people. – Agencies