The Islamic Health Committee center targeted by an Israeli strike in Bashoura, central Beirut, on Oct. 3, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Late Wednesday night, a violent Israeli strike targeted central Beirut, hitting a rescue center in the Bashoura neighborhood, two kilometers away from Downtown Beirut. Shortly after the raid, the second on the capital’s center since October 2023, residents reported a distinct smell and white dust in the air, suggesting the possibility that Israel used white phosphorus.
"White phosphorus, which can be used as a smoke screen or as a weapon, can potentially cause harm to civilians due to the severe burns it inflicts and its long-lasting effects on survivors," Human Rights Watch stated in October 2023. It has been used on numerous occasions by Israel along Lebanon’s southern border.
On-site in Bashoura, Kamel al-Zahloul, an official from the Islamic Health Committee (IHC, affiliated with Hezbollah), whose center was targeted, told our journalist on sight that "nothing currently indicates that phosphorus was used in the strike," but that "tests are underway."
Nine Dead and DNA Tests
In the morning, IHC confirmed that seven of its rescuers were killed in the overnight strike on one of its centers. They were Raja Zreik, Mahdi Halbaoui, Wissam Salhab, Ahmad Hayek, Moustapha Moussawi, Sajed Cherri and Hassan Khansa. While the first five were officials at the center, the latter two were volunteers, according to the IHC statement.
According to the Health Ministry, the provisional death toll from this strike has risen to nine dead and 14 injured, four of whom are still hospitalized. The ministry stated that DNA tests were conducted to identify some body parts. An IHC official on the scene mentioned 10 dead.
On-site, Mohammad, a local resident, recounted what he saw during the night to L'Orient Today, "I was on the house’s roof feeding my pigeons when I saw an indescribable light pass over my head. I thought it was going to fall on us, but it hit the building across. I was thrown to the ground by the blast."
Additional reporting by Caroline Hayek.
