BEIRUT: Israel said it had carried out an air strike on Sunday targeting Hezbollah’s chief of staff in Beirut, leaving a smoking hole in the side of an apartment building and debris scattered in the street. Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least one person killed in the strike, and 21 people wounded, calling it a “preliminary toll”. The strike took place in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a densely populated area where Hezbollah holds sway, and caused “injuries and significant damage”, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA).
A correspondent at the scene said the strike hit the third and fourth floors of a nine-storey building, with ambulances gathered around it and rescuers inspecting the apartments. NNA reported three missiles were fired at the building in the Haret Hreik area, damaging vehicles and other nearby structures. Sunday’s strike, however, was the first on Beirut’s southern suburbs since June 5. It follows an earlier strike on the southern town of Aita al-Shaab, which the Lebanese health ministry said killed one person. — AFP
