At least 22 dead in new attacks on Beirut

 

Beirut
New Israeli attacks in Beirut: at least 22 dead

Ellen Sundström,

Josefin Grunér

Updated 22.37 | Published 20.23

At least 22 people are said to have died and 117 injured after an Israeli attack on central Beirut, the BBC reports.

According to information to Reuters, the target must have been a high-ranking person in Hezbollah.

After the attack, three security sources told Reuters that one of Hizbollah's top figures, Wafiq Safa, had survived an "Israeli assassination attempt in Beirut on Thursday".

The attack took place in a populated area with apartment buildings and small shops, according to Reuters. The Guardian writes that an attack hit the lower half of an eight-story building in the Ras al-Nabaa area. The second attack hit a house in the Burj Abi Haidar area where the entire building collapsed, the newspaper writes.

Families on the run

Emergency rescue work continues at the scene. A passerby told The Guardian's reporter at the scene that families fled the scene with mattresses and bags. Some were bleeding from their ears after the explosion.

The attack killed at least 22 and injured 117 people Photo: Bilal Hussein/AP

Israel has not commented on the attack. The IDF has since issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs and warned it would carry out airstrikes in the area on designated buildings it claims are Hezbollah weapons installations.

Following the attack, the IDF issued an airstrike warning against designated buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. Photo: Hassan Ammar / AP