Hezbollah's media chief, Mohammed Afif, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, the Lebanese militant group confirmed.
The strike targeted the headquarters of the Baath political party in the densely populated Ras al-Naba neighborhood on Sunday, as reported by Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.
The country's health ministry confirmed the deaths of four people, though the identities of the victims were not disclosed.
Afif, one of the few remaining public figures of the group, was last seen on Monday when he held a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's stronghold. Hezbollah confirmed his death on Sunday evening, several hours after initial reports.
The strike heavily damaged most of the Lebanese Baath Party’s headquarters, and rescue teams worked to help those trapped under the debris, the National News Agency reported.
The health ministry also reported 14 people were injured in addition to the four killed.
The Lebanese Baath Party is an affiliate of Syria's Baath Party, led by President Bashar Al-Assad, and a long-time ally of Hezbollah. Its Lebanese headquarters is located at a busy intersection connecting western and eastern Beirut, close to the city center and the airport road, which runs through the southern suburbs.
BBC Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab noted that this attack raised concerns that Israel's strikes were extending beyond Hezbollah's military officials, as Hezbollah is also a political party with representation in Lebanon’s parliament and government. "This development really raises alarm, as there are no signs of de-escalation or a solution in sight, but rather an escalation of Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon," she told BBC's news channel.
Later on Sunday, another strike on Mar Elias Street in central Beirut killed two people and injured 13, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The BBC reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) regarding this second strike.
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF confirmed it had conducted strikes on six Hezbollah military targets in the southern suburbs.
In the past week, Israel has intensified its attacks on Beirut, as US-led efforts for a ceasefire in the ongoing war continue. Israel had already killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders in airstrikes in late September as part of an offensive against the Iran-backed group.
Israel's goal has been to push tens of thousands of displaced residents back to northern Lebanon, nearly a year after Hezbollah increased rocket attacks in support of Palestinians following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Over 3,400 people have died in Lebanon since then, including at least 2,600 since Israel's air campaign and subsequent ground invasion in the south, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Another 1.2 million people have been displaced.
No comments:
Post a Comment