Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut, killing six and wounding 11, amid intensifying conflict

Shafaq News/ At least six people were killed and 11 others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a building in central Beirut early Thursday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The strike ignited a fire in a multi-story residential building in the Bashoura district, close to key government institutions, including the prime minister’s office, parliament, and the United Nations headquarters.

It is the first Israeli strike near the center of Beirut since hostilities escalated. The attack came as part of a series of airstrikes overnight targeting Hezbollah strongholds mostly in the southern suburbs, known as Dahyeh.

The Israeli military claimed that the Bashoura building housed a Hezbollah-affiliated health center, justifying the strike as a "precision" attack on “terrorist infrastructure.”

Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the airstrike, with Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency later accusing Israel of using internationally banned phosphorus bombs during the raid. Human rights organizations have previously accused Israel of deploying white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, raising concerns about the impact on civilians.

The latest assault has exacerbated the suffering of civilians, particularly those already displaced from southern towns and Dahyeh, adding to the mounting humanitarian crisis.

Before the overnight airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon's health ministry reported that 46 people had been killed and 85 wounded in Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, although it did not specify how many of the victims were civilians or combatants.

Ground Combat Intensifies in Southern Lebanon

While airstrikes rattled Beirut, fierce ground fighting continued in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. For the first time since the Israeli invasion began on Monday, face-to-face combat erupted. The Israeli military reported "close-range encounters" with Hezbollah fighters, claiming to have dismantled "terrorist infrastructure" and eliminated fighters using precision-guided munitions.

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the clashes, marking the army’s first confirmed losses since the start of its ground operations against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed to have destroyed Israeli tanks and vowed that it had sufficient forces and ammunition to repel Israeli advances.