Thirteen people, including a child, were killed and 57 others injured in an Israeli strike near Lebanon‘s largest public hospital in Beirut last night, according to an updated toll from the Ministry of Health.
“The Israeli enemy’s raid in the Jna area, near Hariri hospital, resulted in 13 deaths, including one child, and the number of injured has risen to 57, of whom 17 were hospitalised and seven are in critical condition”, the ministry statement said.
Search and rescue operations are continuing in the rubble for potential victims, according to an AFP photographer at the scene
In response, Hezbollah announced it fired rockets early this morning at several Israeli positions, including a naval base near Haifa and a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv, which was targeted for the second time within hours.
The strikes followed a night of escalated tensions in Lebanon, with south Beirut facing renewed Israeli bombardment. The Israeli military said it had struck about 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over 24 hours as part of an expanded offensive against the Iran-backed group’s financial system.
At least 1,489 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, when Israeli strikes intensified, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Lebanese Health Ministry also reported six additional deaths in the south from Israeli raids within the past 24 hours, including a child in Baalbek and four rescue workers affiliated with Hezbollah or its allied Amal movement.
