The Israeli army targeted for the first time on Tuesday evening the home of a member of parliament. An airstrike on Barbour neighborhood in the heart of Beirut struck the residence of Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri, killing one brother and injuring another while he survived.
Hours before a ceasefire agreement goes into effect, Israel went on a spree of airstrikes hitting different neighborhoods in the heart of Beirut, in south Lebanon and in the Beqaa.
The attacks started late afternoon and went on relentlessly for hours following evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli army which said it will target Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches, the financial institution of Hezbollah, in several locations across Beirut. It issued the same warning for Saida and Tyre.
Warplanes first targeted an apartment in the Barbour area of Beirut and in Al-Nuweiry, where seven people were killed and eleven others were wounded, according to the Ministry of Health. Human remains were found on the site. DNA testing will be needed for identification.
Other airstrikes targeted the neighborhoods of Mar Elias, Hamra, Zokak el Blat, Ras Beirut, Mazraa and the area near the Kuwait embassy, while drones were flying over Beirut.
Panic engulfed Beirut’s residents as Israeli Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued several unprecedented warnings for Beirut, announcing plans to bombard their neighborhoods. People started evacuating immediately. Massive traffic jams clogged all routes leading out of Beirut, creating waves of chaos as people rushed to flee.
The warnings urged residents to maintain a distance of 50 meters from targeted locations, a stark reduction from the usual 500 meters, intensifying the sense of urgency and fear.
Adraee also announced that in the upcoming hours, the Israeli army will target several branches of the "Al-Qard Al-Hassan, in Saida, Tyre and the Bekaa, saying they contain funds sourced from Iranian financing and other Hezbollah income streams.” He added, “These funds are effectively used to manage and store Hezbollah's terrorist interests.”
“These strikes will deal an additional blow to the Iranian funding network that Hezbollah relies on and uses through this association for its military purposes,” according to Adraee.
Earlier on Tuesday, Adraee stated that “the army carried out a series of airstrikes on 20 terrorist targets in a swift operation lasting 120 seconds, involving eight fighter jets, in different neighborhoods of the southern suburb of Beirut. Among the targets were seven sites used for managing and storing Hezbollah funds, as well as command centers, cash depots, and branches of the ‘Al-Qard Al-Hassan’ association.”
Additionally, Israeli flares were launched over the seat of government in Beirut as Israel bombs across the country ahead of an expected ceasefire.
Ministry of Public Health
The Ministry of Public health announced that seven people were killed in Al-Nuweiry, targeted early this afternoon, without the usual evacuation warning. Thirty-seven others were injured. Rescue operations to remove the rubble are still ongoing.
In Tyre, an initial toll reports three people killed in an airstrike on the Rachidiyeh camp, including a child. The recovered remains will require DNA testing to identify. Additionally, 22 people were injured. Rescue operations to remove the rubble are still ongoing.
In a related development, Education Minister, Abbas Halabi, announced the closure of all schools and universities across Lebanon on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
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