Beirut, Lebanon – Israel launched airstrikes on Beirut on Thursday, targeting Hezbollah positions, as Lebanese media reported that a senior Hamas official was killed in a drone strike. The attack escalates the ongoing regional conflict, which drew Lebanon directly into hostilities earlier this week.
The Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that several strikes occurred early Thursday, including two in the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Beirut. Footage captured thick smoke rising from the affected areas as residents evacuated following warnings from Israeli forces.
Israel confirmed its strikes targeted “several command centres belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation” in the city. No immediate casualty figures were reported from these particular attacks.
In a separate strike, a pre-dawn Israeli drone attack hit an apartment in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. The strike reportedly killed senior Hamas official Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife, marking the first reported targeted killing of a Hamas leader since the conflict escalated over the weekend. Ali’s brother, also a Hamas official, had been killed in a previous strike triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in 2023.
The NNA also reported a drone strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon that killed three people, though it did not specify who carried out the attack. Another airstrike hit a residence in the Tyre district, while Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for these latest attacks.
Across northern Israel, repeated air raid alerts forced residents into shelters. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, vowed to continue fighting Israel, declaring that his group had launched attacks reaching as far as Tel Aviv. “We are facing aggression… our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender,” he said.
Lebanese authorities have reported at least 72 deaths, 437 injuries, and 83,000 people displaced since Monday, highlighting the severe human toll of the conflict.
The Israeli military instructed civilians living south of the Litani River — roughly 30 kilometres from the border — to evacuate, citing military operations against Hezbollah. Despite a November 2024 truce limiting armed forces south of the Litani to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers, Israel continues to conduct airstrikes and maintain strategic troop positions, citing Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm.
Video footage shows Israeli tanks operating in southern Lebanese towns such as Khiam, while clashes with Hezbollah fighters have led to moderate injuries among Israeli soldiers. UN peacekeepers have raised concerns that these actions violate Lebanese sovereignty.
The violence has also affected Beirut’s southern suburbs and towns like Aramoun and Saadiyat, resulting in civilian casualties. Even areas outside Hezbollah’s stronghold, including predominantly Christian neighborhoods like Hazmieh, have seen attacks, underlining the conflict’s broadening reach.
As the war continues, ordinary residents bear the brunt of the escalating violence, fleeing their homes in search of safety, while families mourn the loss of loved ones caught in the crossfire. The humanitarian crisis is deepening, and the people of Lebanon are facing a grim reality as the region grapples with a widening conflict.
