Israel Latest: Strike Kills 6 in Beirut As Foreign Nationals Evacuate
As Israel's latest ground operation against militant group Hezbollah reaches its third day six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut overnight, Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed on Thursday.
The attack comes as countries around the world scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the war-torn region.
Israel is pressing forward with a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while continuing airstrikes in Gaza that have killed dozens, including children.
The Israeli military reported that eight of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting along the southern Lebanese border.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting to address the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East, with global leaders calling for restraint on both sides.
Iran's ambassador to the U.N. said that his country launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a response to Israeli actions. Israel's U.N. ambassador labeled the attack as an "unprecedented act of aggression."
On Wednesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation, stating Iran "will pay," while Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed crowds in Tehran promising Iran would get "rid of the enemies' evil."
In Washington, President Joe Biden stated on Wednesday that he would not support any Israeli military action targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, however he confirmed the U.S. did provide support against the Iranian missile attack that targeted Israel from two naval destroyers in the region.
Houthi drone attack
According to the U.K.'s Times newspaper the Iran-backed Yemeni group claimed responsibility for striking a "vital target" in the once predominantly Arab Tel Aviv suburb of Jaffa, using multiple drones.
"In continuation of the victory for the injustice of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples and in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistances, the Yemeni Armed Forces' drone air force carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) area in occupied Palestine," brigadier general Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces is reported to have said.
The IDF earlier reported that a drone was shot down by the Israeli Air Force over the sea off the coast of central Israel. Later, two additional drones were detected over the sea, according to the military. One was shot down, while the second drone landed in an open area. Sirens sounded in the coastal town of Bat Yam.
No injuries or damage were reported in the aftermath of the drone strikes.
Since the October 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages, Israel has been engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah across the Lebanon border. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching large-scale military operations in Gaza. According to health officials, over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with more than half being women and children.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 4:22 AM