The Israeli military bombed a target dangerously close to Beirut’s airport at the very moment a large passenger jet was taxiing nearby, a video published by Sputnik Arabic on Thursday has shown. A massive Israeli bomb destroyed a building located just a few dozen meters from the tarmac, according to the footage.
The clip starts with an airliner moving along the tarmac at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport. At some point, a massive blast rocks the area, leveling a low-rise building nearby. The surrounding area is quickly covered by plumes of thick gray smoke and dust that can be seen rising high into the air.
The aircraft still appears undamaged and continues taxiing after the strike. It is unclear if it was preparing for takeoff or was maneuvering after landing. The media has reported for weeks that only one commercial airline still operates out of Beirut – Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA). The company still makes dozens of flights to and from the Lebanese capital despite frequent Israeli shelling that sometimes hits targets close to the airport.
Israel launched a major offensive in Lebanon in September, pounding Beirut with a wave of airstrikes. The Israel Defense Forces have also begun a ground incursion. The campaign followed a dramatic escalation between West Jerusalem and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.
The two sides had sporadically exchanged fire over the past year, with Hezbollah seeking to punish Israel for operations against the militant group Hamas in Gaza. The subsequent IDF invasion of Lebanon also followed a sabotage operation targeting Hezbollah’s handheld communication devices that injured thousands.
The Israeli military killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in one of its airstrikes. In late September, Israel stated that almost all of the group’s military leaders had been eliminated, but has continued its operation.
IDF actions in Lebanon have sparked international concern, particularly due to attacks hitting UN peacekeepers stationed in the south of the country. The US also said it was “deeply concerned” by reports of such attacks last month. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described one such incident as an “inadmissible act, for which there is no justification.”