Lebanon’s health minister announced Saturday that the death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb has climbed to 31, including seven women and three children. The strike, which occurred on Friday, has become the deadliest in Beirut since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Health Minister Firass Abiad reported that 68 people were also wounded, with 15 still hospitalized. Among those killed was Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, who led the group’s elite Radwan Forces. Approximately a dozen other Hezbollah members, who had gathered in the basement of the building that was destroyed, were also among the casualties.
The airstrike hit the densely populated southern Beirut neighborhood during rush hour, as residents returned home from work and school. The following day, Hezbollah's media office led journalists on a tour of the devastated site, where rescue workers continued to search through the rubble for bodies.
Lebanese troops sealed off the area, preventing civilians from reaching the collapsed building. Meanwhile, members of the Lebanese Red Cross stood ready to handle any bodies recovered from the debris.
The airstrike came just hours after Hezbollah launched one of its heaviest bombardments on northern Israel in nearly a year, targeting Israeli military sites. Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted most of the Katyusha rockets, but the exchange has sparked fears of further escalation in the already volatile region.
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