20 killed, 66 injured in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s Beirut

BEIRUT — At least 20 people were killed and 66 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the Lebanese capital Beirut, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported.

The air raid at dawn targeted the eight-storey building in the Basta Fawka neighbourhood, destroying it and damaging the buildings nearby, the Ministry said on Saturday, noting Civil Defence teams are still working to remove the rubble in search of victims.

Israeli media outlets reported that the airstrike was aimed at targeting a prominent Hezbollah official, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a statement, Hezbollah lawmaker Amin Sherri said “there was no party figure, neither military nor civilian, in the targeted building in Beirut”.

On Saturday night, two paramedics were killed, and four others injured in Israeli airstrikes in the village of Ain Baal in Tyre district, southern Lebanon, according to the Public Health Emergency Operations Center affiliated with the Ministry.

According to the Ministry, an Israeli drone attacked an Islamic Health Authority ambulance en route to Ain Baal for rescue operations. When a second ambulance team arrived to assist, it was also targeted by an Israeli drone, resulting in the death of two paramedics and injuries to four others from both teams.

The Ministry condemned “this terrible disregard for humanitarian rescue work,” reiterating its call for the international community to take a “firm stance” against Israel’s “violations of international law”.

According to a statement issued by the World Health Organisation on Friday, at least 226 health workers and patients were killed and 199 others injured in Lebanon between October 7, 2023, and November 18, 2024.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has intensified its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.