An apparent Israeli airstrike on Monday morning hit central Beirut for the first time since the 2006 war, according to reporters on the ground in the city. A week-long bombing campaign on Lebanon has decimated the leadership of Hezbollah and sent hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing north.
The strike in the capital's Kola district killed three leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the organization has confirmed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have yet to claim credit for the bombing, which hit the upper floor of a residential building, according to Reuters and Associated Press (AP). Over a dozen people have been injured, a source in Lebanese Civil Defense told AP on condition of anonymity. The strike reportedly also killed a member of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya militant group.
Low-intensity clashes between Hezbollah and the IDF have continued since October last year, when the Israeli military began a siege of Gaza in retaliation for a deadly incursion by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Hezbollah has said it would keep launching rockets across Israel’s northern border until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel’s escalated attack on Lebanon started with a wave of explosions of pagers, walkie talkies and other devices, which Western media has called the result of an Israeli intelligence operation targeting Hezbollah's communications.
The following week, the IDF significantly ramped up airstrikes on Lebanon, killing over 1,000 people and wounding some 6,000 according to local health officials. The escalation also triggered a mass exodus from the areas most affected by the fighting.
The Israeli military also conducted a series of bombings against senior Hezbollah leaders, killing most of them, including the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Lebanese officials have estimated that around 250,000 people sought shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives or camping out in the streets. Israel’s stated goal is to create conditions for some 60,000 of its citizens evacuated from northern Israel to return to their communities.