One of the cars targeted by Israeli strikes during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday on the district of Jnah district in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Health Ministry affirmed Wednesday that the two Israeli attacks on Jnah, in Beirut's southern suburbs, and on Khalde, just south of Beirut, killed at least seven people combined.
The Health Ministry said the Israeli air strike on Jnah killed at least five people and wounded 21 others. A Lebanese security source said four parked cars were targeted on a street close to embassies, notably the Chinese and Iranian embassies, and close to Zahraa Hospital. The strikes on Jnah were launched from Israeli warships, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), and were heard across the capital.
Another Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle in Khalde earlier in the night killed two people and wounded three, the Health Ministry said in a separate statement. Several missiles were fired by an Israeli military drone at a car on the main highway south of Beirut. The vehicle caught fire and, according to a report by the NNA, one of the projectiles failed to explode.
According to a message of condolence circulating on pro-Hezbollah groups, one of the people killed in the attack on Jnah was a Hezbollah fighter, Mohammad Baqer Baha’ Naboulsi, son of the journalist Baha’ Naboulsi and grandson of Afif Naboulsi, a Shia religious authority who died in 2023. He was also the nephew of Mohmammad Afif Naboulsi, former head of Hezbollah's press office, who was assassinated in an Israeli strike in November 2024. The condolence message states that his funeral will be held later today in Saida. It is not yet known whether Mohammad Naboulsi was directly targeted by the strikes on Jnah or not, nor what position he held within the movement.
Israel reports strikes against 'senior Hezbollah commander' in attacks on Beirut
On the Israeli side, the army announced during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday that it had struck a “senior Hezbollah commander” and another fighter in two separate strikes carried out on "the Beirut area” — without specifying whether this second target was also part of Hezbollah, nor disclosing the precise location of the attacks.
Another strike, on the Hadath district of Beirut's southern suburbs, also targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut at around 3am, according to Ani. Earlier in the day, Israel had notably targeted a building on the road to Beirut airport and struck Dekouané, on the hills north of the capital, without warning, according to Ani. On Tuesday morning, following a warning, the Israeli air force also targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, which had been largely deserted by its inhabitants.
Health Ministry death toll: Nearly 1,300 killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanon
Israeli strikes have killed nearly 1,300 people since the beginning of its renewed offensive on the country on March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, and displaced more than one million, mostly residents of southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.
Israel has reiterated its intention to occupy parts of southern Lebanon under the pretext of creating a "buffer zone" that extends up to the Litani River, and perhaps even beyond.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that "all the houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be demolished."
Katz's Lebanese counterpart Michel Menassah decried plans for "a new occupation of Lebanese territory," while Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced Israel's deployment as an "illegal invasion."
Four Israeli soldiers reported killed by Hezbollah
Hezbollah has claimed dozens of attacks across the border and against Israeli forces inside Lebanon. Around midnight, air raid sirens sounded across the Galilee region, according to the Israeli military's Home Front Command.
This came hours after what Israeli media said was a barrage of more than 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah, which claimed multiple attacks on northern Israel in successive statements late Tuesday.
Hezbollah also said its fighters were engaged in "fierce clashes" with Israeli troops near the border early Wednesday, and claimed rocket fire targeting a group of soldiers in another area.
Israel's military has reported several casualties among its ranks in recent days in south Lebanon, including four soldiers who were killed.
Rubio condemns Iran's 'outrageous' attacks on Kuwait
