Israel launches midnight attacks on the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Friday that Israel’s air force destroyed scores of buildings in multiple areas after bombarding Dahiyeh, a suburb in southern Beirut, overnight.

The number of casualties was not immediately known.

Israel has recently increased the intensity of its bombings against various locations in southern Lebanon, as well as the northeastern city of Baalbek and the surrounding communities. With fresh plans to end the regional crisis, international mediators are stepping up their attempts to stop the battles in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

More than 2,800 people have been killed and 13,000 injured since Hezbollah started launching rockets into Israel nearly every day on October 8, 2023, prompting retaliation, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Palestinian officials said this week that the number of people killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has surpassed 43,000 after more than a year of fighting, without making a distinction between militants and civilians.

On October 7, 2023, militants led by Hamas invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and kidnapping 250 more. This marked the start of the conflict.