Deadly Israeli strike razes residential building in central Beirut

There was dust and wrecked houses, people running and screaming, they were running,

Nemir Zakariya, several of whose family members were severely injured in the attack, told Reuters

My wife is in hospital, my daughter is in hospital, my aunt is in the hospital,

he said

The Israeli enemy strike on Basta al-Fawqa in Beirut killed four people and injured 23 others,

the ministry said in a statement, giving a preliminary toll

Avichay Adraeeisraeli army spokesman

You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the [Israeli military] will operate in the near future,

Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic language spokesman, posted on social media platform X

It marks at least the fourth Israeli strike this week carried out in central Beirut,

he said

The language of passion and love they shared was filled with poetry,

Baalbaki said

To see your house getting bombed and in a split second turned into ash, I don’t think there is description for it,

Baalbaki said

Dedication to Adeeba, the partner of my most precious days, the love bird that left its nest too soon.”

In a book of poems and photographs his father created for his wife following her sudden death in a car accident, the first page reads

The mourning phase started to turn to determination to rebuild this project,

he said

Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-storey residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in the Basta area.”

The National News Agency reported

Do you know that most of the apartments’ owners took credit to buy those houses? Life savings are gone, memories and safety … which Israel decided to steal from us,

Darwich said

There was no prior warning,

Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said of the Basta strike in a phone interview,

Afterwards, an Israeli infantry force and five tanks were stationed on this hill, which is about 4 km away from the border line separating Lebanon and Israel,

they added

Enemy reconnaissance aircraft” were flying over Deir Mimas, which has been largely emptied of residents, warning people “not to leave their homes”,

the NNA reported

The trajectory of this conflict is one of escalation at a time when it is becoming clear that the latest attempt by the US administration to bring about a ceasefire has failed,

she said, referring to the latest United States-led push to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

Thick smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the Lebanese University” in the Hadath neighbourhood

The NNA earlier on Friday reported several other Israeli strikes on south Beirut, adding

The actions of the ICC are unlikely to help resolve anything,

Peskov said

We will examine conscientiously the domestic steps,

said government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit

We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said

Yes for the moment.”

Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said