Israel launches two series of bombings on Beirut's southern suburbs

A week after a strike against a building in the Semaan Gallery area, Beirut's southern suburbs were again bombarded by the Israeli army on Wednesday night, a few hours after an initial sequence of strikes on Wednesday afternoon.

At least four strikes, including a very powerful one near Beirut airport, were heard in and around the capital. At around 11:40 p.m., the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, announced this new sequence of strikes, calling on residents of the Ouzai, Haret Hreik, Hadath and Tahwitat al-Ghadir neighborhoods to leave and avoid several buildings in their respective areas. The strike in the latter neighborhood caused a fire at a gas station, according to local media. During the time between the publication of the warnings and the first strike, many Ouzai residents fled their homes.

In the evening, several media outlets reported threats to Beirut airport, while on the same day, Hezbollah had successfully fired missiles at an Israeli base located not far from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport. Around midnight, a source contacted by al-Jadeed said that “Beirut airport is still operational, and contacts are underway to avoid any attack against it.”

A source at Beirut airport L'Orient-Le Jour contacted said that all flights scheduled by Middle East Airlines today had departed or arrived and that no further flights were scheduled for the night. Earlier in the day, the CEO of MEA stated that the airport had received no call to evacuate, following the broadcast of a voice message recorded on an instant messaging application indicating the contrary.

As Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem began his second speech since taking over from former leader Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by an Israeli strike on Sept. 27, The Israeli army issued a first wave of warnings on X to residents of the Haret Hreik, Laylaki and Burj al-Barajneh neighborhoods, for a total of six targets.

At the end of the first series of bombings, the Israeli army spokesperson announced that the strikes had hit “Hezbollah targets, including headquarters, weapons depots and other military structures.” The map published showed the six points mentioned earlier in the warnings issued.

The Arab League's deputy secretary-general, Hossam Zaki, said in an interview with the al-Ghad channel that Israel would “end the war in a very criminal and ugly way” and that “the coming weeks will be dangerous for Lebanon."

Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been fighting each other since Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the outbreak of war in Gaza, but the fighting has turned into a full-scale war since the end of September. More than 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombardments, and more than 1.2 million displaced, as well as massive destruction, particularly in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs.