Thiloththama Jayasinghe, Jadetimes Staff
T. Jayasinghe is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Political News
At an uneasy calm, Israeli airstrikes pummeled Central Beirut on Thursday evening, killing 22 people and wounding at least 117, the Lebanese Ministry of Health says. Flattening buildings in the closely packed residential districts of Bachoura-a small Shia district within the Lebanese capital-the attacks set off loud reverberations through the city, with smoke and fire billowing from where the attack had destroyed buildings. Emergency responders hurried to dig injured and dead from the rubble.
The eyewitnesses in Bachoura said that the outlook of the scenes is catastrophic: buildings turned to crumbling masses of debris, fires burning through what was once a vibrant community. Rescue workers struggled to dig through the ruins in search of survivors. Terrified residents fled their homes. The destruction struck at the heart of Beirut, a city already reeling from years of economic collapse, political instability, and recent flare-ups of violence.
No Warning, No Escape: A Direct Hit on Civilians
Unlike the previous airstrikes that targeted Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the most recent attacks concentrated on civilian areas outside of the known Hezbollah strongholds. Indeed, the two hardest-hit neighbourhoods, Nweiri and Basta, are housing thousands of people in closely packed apartments. These residential buildings were four to five stories tall-what made the destruction even more tragic.
Many of the injured were transported to the American University Hospital, one of the best-equipped hospitals in town, which soon became overwhelmed by casualties. Physicians and nurses were desperately racing against time to cope with the victims, treating people with severe head injuries, shattered bones, and burns.
A witness, not wanting to be identified, who was in a nearby building when the blasts hit, told Reuters: "It happened so fast, there was no warning." Still shaken, she said: "That building has lots of families. We didn't have time to run. And now my cousin's inside with head wounds."
Wafiq Safa: A Missed Target?
These strikes, according to media speculations, were targeted at Wafiq Safa, believed by many sources to be a close associate of the late leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah. Safa is one of the most important figures of this group and has survived an assassination attempt before. Yet, no official confirmation came out about his whereabouts at the time of the strike, neither from them nor from any comments provided by Hezbollah or the IDF concerning his survival.
The IDF hasn't said a word about it, nor will it talk about it. This also goes in line with Israel's policy of not saying a thing in relation to military activity, particularly in Lebanon, where tensions with Hezbollah have stretched over several decades. Hezbollah itself hasn't said a word concerning the issue in media circles, but its members reportedly have ramped up their retaliatory attacks on Israeli targets in close proximity to the southern Lebanese border.
UN Peacekeepers Under Fire
Meanwhile, Israel's ground forces have also been deeper inside southern Lebanon. Earlier on Thursday, Israeli tank fire hit a UNIFIL, or United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, observation post in Naqoura, near the southern border. Two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured at that post, as their watchtower was hit and they fell from the structure. Both peacekeepers were hospitalized, though their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
That was not an isolated incident. The UN confirmed that the Israeli forces had, a number of times in the last 24 hours alone, attacked positions belonging to the UN, something raising eyebrows within the international community. According to UNIFIL, the Israeli soldiers even opened fire at cameras and lights belonging to other peacekeeping positions in what many would say was a dangerous escalation of the situation.
This concern was voiced by Andrea Tenenti, a UNIFIL spokesperson, after the attacks against the peacekeepers: "Deliberate attacks on UN peacekeepers are a grave violation of international law," Tenenti said, adding that UNIFIL would not withdraw from their positions, not because of the pressure of Israeli forces. He underlined that these positions are well-known and that discussions with Israeli authorities would be meant to avoid further violence against peacekeeping troops.
UNIFIL has been present in Lebanon since 1978, operating along the "Blue Line," an unofficial boundary separating Lebanon from Israel after Israel pulled out of southern Lebanon. The 10,000-military-strong peacekeeping force involves troops from 50 countries, playing a significant role in sustaining the relative calm in the area. However, in the midst of growing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, the peacekeeping force has become increasingly in the line of fire.
The Widening War: Hezbollah Fights Back
With Israeli forces pouring deeper into Lebanon, Hezbollah struck back hard. On the same day as the Beirut airstrikes, it fired off some 190 rockets at northern Israel, the IDF said. Hezbollah guerrillas clashed with Israeli troops in a ground battle near Naqoura, claiming to have destroyed an Israeli tank with guided missiles and killed and wounded Israeli troops.
The Israeli forces have mounted ground operations in Lebanon since the end of September, marking a significant escalation of a conflict that has grown increasingly volatile. Currently, there are four divisions of Israeli soldiers involved in the fighting with the forces of Hezbollah in the region, bringing the war into a new and dangerous phase.
The Human Toll: Lebanon's Displaced Population
The growing level of violence has steadily continued to affect Lebanon's civilians with the brunt of the conflict. According to the Lebanese government, 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in the past year. Whole families are fleeing the fighting, with many finding temporary home in already overcrowded parts of Beirut or further north, away from the southern battle zones.
The humanitarian situation is dire. Since the infrastructure of the country has already been brought low by economic meltdown, it is almost impossible to care for the displaced with inadequate resources. The hospitals are overcrowded, there is a shortage of electricity, and the food supplies are not enough. The Lebanese government, mired in political deadlock and financial ruin, has tried to coordinate a convincing response.
A Regional Conflict Spirals Out of Control
This wave of violence began on 8 October 2023 when Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel in response to Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Hezbollah, long a staunch ally of Hamas, had ramped up military operations after the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel killed over 1,200 Israelis and took another 251 hostages to Gaza. Since then, Israel has mounted a vast offense in the territory that has killed at least 42,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
What was once a contained war, held between Gaza and Israel's southern borders, has crawled its way into Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds great power and influence-largely in the south and partially in Beirut. That stead may be very vulnerable, with Lebanon in an already fragile political and economic state.
But with world leaders calling for de-escalation, the human cost keeps on mounting: thousands of civilians caught in crossfires, Lebanon's long-suffering population again in the eye of a brutal conflict that does not seem to end. The international community, led by the United Nations and various humanitarian organizations, is racing against time to provide aid, yet the scale of the crisis is already overwhelming even the most coordinated relief efforts.
