BEIRUT: Israel carried out a fresh attack on Sunday on Hezbollah's southern Beirut bastion, a Lebanese security official said, with the Israeli military announcing a "precise strike". The latest attack came days after a similar strike killed the group's powerful leader Hassan Nasrallah, sending tensions soaring amid intensive Israeli strikes on the country's east, south and south Beirut.
"Israel carried out an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs," said the Lebanese official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Correspondents heard a loud explosion and saw smoke billowing from the area.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a "violent raid carried out by Israeli warplanes", adding that ambulances had rushed to the area of Beirut's southern suburbs. A witness said that a rocket hit a building, which instantly collapsed.
In recent days, Israel has shifted the focus of its military operations from Gaza to Lebanon, after nearly a year of low-level cross-border fire with Hezbollah, killing hundreds in Lebanon and displacing scores more. The group began exchanging cross-border fire with Israel in support of Palestinian Hamas a day after the group's October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
France's foreign minister will travel to Lebanon on Sunday, his ministry said, amid spiralling fears that the region could be headed towards an all-out war. Jean-Noel Barrot will take off from Paris shortly, to land in Lebanon on Sunday evening to "exchange with the local authorities and bring French support, especially humanitarian", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
On Saturday, Barrot spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, saying Paris was calling for "an immediate halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon" and was "opposed to any ground operation", according to the foreign ministry.
Intense Israeli attacks may have forced up to a million people to flee parts of Lebanon in possibly the worst displacement crisis in the tiny country's history, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday. Mikati told reports that "the estimated number is very high and may reach one million" -- which would amount to roughly a sixth of Lebanon's population.
Israel said on Sunday it killed another senior Hezbollah official in an air strike on the Lebanese capital after dealing the group a seismic blow by assassinating its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Israel announced the killing of Nabil Qaouq, a member of Hezbollah's central council in a strike.
The past week's waves of strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon have also plunged the Mediterranean country and the wider region into fear of even more violence to come. — AFP
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