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Israel targets Hezbollah commander as 569 killed in Lebanon

Israeli airstrike targets senior Hezbollah operative as onslaught enters second day
MENA
27 min read
24 September, 2024
An Israeli airstrike targeted Ghobeiry just south of Beirut on Tuesday, reportedly killing yet another senior Hezbollah commander

The Israeli military continued striking south Lebanon and the country's eastern Beqaa region overnight, a day after it launched a massive wave of air raids on Lebanon's deadliest day in decades. It also struck the southern suburbs of Beirut for a fifth time this year.

At least 569 people have been killed, including 50 children, and at least 1,835 wounded in the two days of attacks, including children.

On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike hit the southern Beirut suburb of Ghobeiry. Two Lebanese security sources have said the raid killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Qubaisi, who led the group's rockets division.

Hezbollah fired dozens of rocket salvos on Israeli air bases and other military targets on Tuesday, including in the Galilee and around the port city of Haifa. It said it attacked an explosives factory around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) and the Megiddo airfield three separate times overnight.

Israel claims it is striking Hezbollah targets and says it managed to destroy thousands of the militant group's sites and rockets. Tel Aviv says it wants to push Hezbollah back from the Israeli border after nearly a year of cross-border fighting, but Hezbollah has refused to end hostilities before a ceasefire in Gaza.

Thousands continue to flee south Lebanon, as Lebanese environment minister - who is coordinating the crisis response - Nasser Yassin, told Reuters that temporary shelters in schools and other facilities had been set up in Beirut and other regions, with the capacity for more than 26,000 people as civilians fled the "Israeli atrocities".