Lebanese soldiers stationed in Araya after an Israeli strike, in the Baabda district of Mount Lebanon, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/OLJ)
An Israeli airstrike conducted overnight from Thursday to Friday targeted an apartment in the Ain al-Rummaneh area, located in the Aley district, killing a man who lived there along with his two wives and injuring their three children, a source from the Ain al-Rummaneh municipality told L'Orient-Le Jour. This location should not be confused with the neighborhood of the same name in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The strike was initially reported in Qmatiyé, a nearby town.
"The man killed owned a pager. The Sept. 17 attack did not kill him," the source said, referring to the simultaneous explosion of thousands of small communication devices belonging to Hezbollah members, which left more than 30 dead and hundreds injured across Lebanon. Days after that attack, on September 23, Israel escalated its offensive in Lebanon, launching its "Northern Arrows" operation. Four days later, Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive bombing on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah did not respond to L'OLJ’s requests to confirm the information or indicate whether the man was a party member. A spokesperson for the Lebanese army, when contacted, said they do not have information on the reported strike.
A child seriously injured
The man had been living in this apartment with his two wives and their three children for a long time. They are from the Achmar family, the municipal source added. The three children were injured — two lightly and one seriously, with the latter hospitalized. The site of the strike is not accessible; Hezbollah members have cordoned off the area, the source continued. Nearby businesses told L'Orient-Le Jour that life goes on as usual in Ain al-Rummaneh and the surrounding area, despite last night’s strike.
The Health Ministry reported that this strike resulted in at least three deaths and five injuries, including children, in a preliminary count. No warning was given by Israel before the strike on Ain al-Rummaneh, during a violent night in Lebanon when Israeli aircraft conducted around 15 strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as on Nabatieh in the South.
The village of Qmatieh, part of the Aley region, has been hit multiple times by Israeli strikes. A few kilometers away lie the towns of Kahale and Araya, located on the international highway linking Beirut to the Bekaa Valley and Syria, where several recent strikes have also targeted vehicles, at least one of which contained rockets.
