Politics "It's hell": Israel continues to bomb parts of Beirut
Israel continued its bombardments in the area of the Lebanese capital Beirut during the night.
28.09.2024, 06:11
SDA
It was still uncertain in the early hours of the morning whether the massive airstrike on Friday, which according to the Israeli army targeted the headquarters of the Shia militia Hezbollah, which was hidden under residential buildings, had killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah. In neighboring Syria, people in the last major rebel area of Idlib were already celebrating his death. Meanwhile in Beirut, hundreds of people fled from Israel's attacks in the southern suburbs to the center of the capital.
Shock was written all over people's faces. Frightened families waited in the streets everywhere with tears in their eyes, as a reporter from the German Press Agency in Beirut described. People who fled to the city center from the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah is particularly strong, spoke of a "hell". They sought shelter in parks, on the street and on public beaches in the sweltering night. One woman said she had fled barefoot. According to eyewitnesses, an eerie calm prevailed in the early morning. One resident of the capital spoke of a "nightmare".
Search for survivors
Local television stations showed night-time explosions south of Beirut near the international airport. Fires and secondary explosions could be seen. Meanwhile, rescuers continued to search for survivors of Friday's massive airstrike, which destroyed several buildings in the densely populated suburb of Haret Hreik, according to Lebanon's state news agency NNA. There could be dozens or even hundreds of casualties.
Guterres warns of conflagration
UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued an urgent warning against the conflict spreading. "The war in Lebanon could lead to further escalation with the involvement of external powers," he said at a UN Security Council meeting in New York. "We must avoid a regional war at all costs." According to the UN, tens of thousands of people have already fled to Syria since the start of the heavy Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel's army reported further air strikes on "terrorist targets" in Beirut belonging to Hezbollah during the night. No details were given in the announcement.
Nasrallah's fate still uncertain
During the night, Israel's army announced further attacks in the area of the Lebanese capital. It said that weapons production facilities, buildings in which modern weapons were stored and command centers of the pro-Iranian militia had been attacked. According to Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, rockets were stored under civilian residential buildings, which also posed a threat to international shipping and strategic facilities in Israel. The Israeli army had previously called on the residents of the attacked area to evacuate.
Hezbollah rejected the Israeli army's claim that it had attacked the militia's weapons depots. There were no weapons or depots in the attacked buildings.
Meanwhile, Israel's military said it had also attacked Hezbollah militia positions again in southern Lebanon. Following shelling from Lebanon, the air force bombed the launching device, the army announced during the night. At least three shells had previously been fired at Israel from there, most of which had been intercepted. Other Shia militia positions in southern Lebanon were also attacked, including buildings in which Hezbollah had stored weapons.
The attack on Hezbollah's headquarters reported by Israel was the "most aggressive step" taken by Israel in the past two weeks, with sophisticated intelligence operations, targeted killings and heavy bombardments, wrote the Wall Street Journal. The militia is to be prevented from crossing the border into Israel. So far, the attacks in Beirut have been "targeted killings" of Hezbollah commanders, wrote the Times of Israel. However, the latest attacks were more extensive and aimed to destroy infrastructure and high-ranking individuals.
Report: Nasrallah's death would also be a heavy blow for Iran
If Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was indeed killed, this would not only be an "enormous blow" for the militia he led, wrote the Wall Street Journal. It would also be a major blow to its most important supporter, Iran, and the network of allied militias that Tehran has built up throughout the Middle East against its arch-enemy Israel. It would also be the clearest signal yet that Hezbollah has been deeply penetrated by Israeli intelligence, the US newspaper continued.
In Syria, people were already streaming onto the streets in the last major rebel area of Idlib in the evening to celebrate the as yet unconfirmed death of Nasrallah, as could be seen in videos on social networks. Opposition members in Syria regard Hezbollah as one of the most important henchmen of their greatest enemy, President Bashar al-Assad. A civil war broke out in Syria in 2011. At the time, Hezbollah sent around 7,000 fighters from Lebanon to the neighboring country to support President Assad's government against predominantly Sunni rebels with the help of Iran and Russia.
Sharp criticism of Israel
Iran's Foreign Ministry sharply criticized Israel's actions. At the same time, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran's firm support for Lebanon, according to the state news agency Irna. "The continuing crimes of the Zionist regime (...) clearly show that the call by the USA and some Western countries for a ceasefire is a blatant fraud."
Russia also voiced harsh criticism. "We condemn the actions of the Israeli side in the strongest possible terms, as they blatantly violate the sovereignty of our friendly country Lebanon," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a UN Security Council meeting. The escalating violence must be stopped immediately before the situation gets completely out of control. "The dangerous development in the aggression against Lebanon opens the door to an open and all-out war", declared the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The result of such a war would be "devastating" for Israel.
UN chief warns of conflagration
UN Secretary-General Guterres said he supported the proposal for a temporary ceasefire, which would enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and pave the way for the resumption of serious negotiations on a lasting peace. "We need this ceasefire now." Endless negotiations like those in Gaza cannot be afforded. "Gaza remains the epicenter of violence. And Gaza is the key to ending the violence," said Guterres in New York. "The shockwaves emanating from the unprecedented death and destruction in Gaza now threaten to plunge the entire region into the abyss: a conflagration with unimaginable consequences," said the UN chief.
