Massive Explosions Rock Beirut After Israeli Airstrikes Intensify
Renewed Israeli airstrikes have caused massive explosions near Beirut’s international airport, heightening tensions as the conflict with Hezbollah escalates. The specific target of the strikes remains unclear, but the airport is located near Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the capital.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army reported the deaths of two soldiers amidst Israel’s ongoing offensive against Hezbollah. Twenty towns and villages have been ordered to evacuate as Israeli forces continue their push.
While the Israeli military has not officially commented on these strikes, they did confirm the killing of Hezbollah fighters near the border. Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli troops on both sides of the frontier.
The fatalities among Lebanese soldiers occurred just hours apart on Thursday, the third full day of Israel’s ground invasion. The first incident saw a soldier killed during an evacuation mission in the village of Taybeh, while another soldier lost his life when an Israeli strike hit an army post in Bint Jbeil. In response, the army returned fire, marking a rare instance of direct engagement in the conflict.
As the situation deteriorates, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have instructed residents of more southern towns and villages, including the regional capital Nabatieh, to evacuate. Notably, these communities lie north of the Litani River, further from the border, highlighting the expanding conflict zone.
The evacuation orders follow Israel’s demand for Hezbollah to withdraw to the Litani River, as per a United Nations Security Council resolution that concluded the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
From Beirut, World Food Programme’s Lebanon director, Matthew Hollingworth, described the scene as “horrific,” with black smoke continuously billowing over the southern suburbs. Displaced families, fleeing the violence in the south, are now crowding the city’s streets, with many forced to sleep in their cars.
The International Rescue Committee’s Lebanon country director, Juan Gabriel Wells, reported that nearly half of the displaced people in government shelters are children under the age of 15.
The airstrikes in Beirut come just a day after a residential building in the city center was struck, killing nine people, including seven first responders linked to Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health minister reported that over 40 paramedics and firefighters have been killed in the past three days.
Israel has justified the airstrikes, claiming they target Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, including intelligence headquarters and weapons storage facilities. Over 1,300 people have died across Lebanon as a result of the ongoing attacks, with over a million displaced, according to local authorities. Israel initiated this latest offensive after a year of cross-border hostilities stemming from the Gaza conflict, seeking to neutralize the threat posed by Hezbollah’s rocket, missile, and drone strikes.
The IDF announced that it struck 200 Hezbollah targets overnight, including weapons depots and observation posts. A joint operation by the Israeli air force and infantry reportedly killed several Hezbollah commanders in a targeted strike.
Hezbollah has maintained that its fighters successfully repelled multiple Israeli attempts to advance into border villages. The group also continued to fire rockets into northern Israel, with over 230 projectiles launched in a single day. While most were intercepted, the strikes have turned Israel’s northern border region into a closed military zone.
In one of these communities, former British soldier Dean Sweetland, who now lives in a kibbutz near the Lebanese border, shared the toll of daily rocket attacks. His home shakes several times a day from Hezbollah’s missile fire, some of which is intercepted by Israel’s air defenses.
“We can’t go on like this, living in fear of another October 7th-style attack,” he said, referring to the deadly assault by Hamas that triggered the Gaza conflict. Though aware of the dangers, Sweetland acknowledged the grim reality, saying, “It’s not going to be pretty, but if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.”
