An Israeli airstrike in central Beirut on Sunday killed Hezbollah’s media relations chief, Mohammed Afif. The assault focused a constructing housing the Lebanese department of the Syrian Ba’ath Occasion within the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood, marking a uncommon strike in central Beirut. Hezbollah is but to formally verify Afif’s dying.
A viral video captured the second the Israeli strike hit, inflicting the constructing to break down amid an enormous explosion. Footage shared by Iranian information company IRNA later confirmed the collapsed construction diminished to rubble, with particles scattered throughout the realm. Civil defence staff had been seen sifting by means of the ruins.
Afif, a significant determine inside Hezbollah, had served because the group’s media advisor and was identified for internet hosting press conferences amidst the aftermath of Israeli bombardments. His current statements included claims that Hezbollah was well-prepared for a protracted battle with Israel. His dying comes weeks after the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Lebanese well being ministry reported that Sunday’s strike killed one particular person and injured three others in Ras al-Nabaa. The constructing focused was additionally identified to shelter displaced people from southern Lebanon, highlighting the battle’s intensive civilian toll.
The assault on Ras al-Nabaa was one in all two Israeli strikes in Beirut on Sunday. A separate assault in Mar Elias, one other hardly ever focused central space, hit a car and claimed at the least two lives, in keeping with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV. The densely packed neighbourhood, dwelling to many displaced residents, was left engulfed in flames following the strike.
Israel has intensified its navy operations in Lebanon since September, concentrating on Hezbollah strongholds within the south and japanese areas, in addition to the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Lebanese well being ministry estimates that over 3,800 folks have died, and almost 15,000 have been injured for the reason that escalation started.
