Beirut, November 17 (IANS). Hezbollah’s media chief Mohammed Afif and three others were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the office of Syria’s Baath Party in central Beirut.
According to local TV channel Al-Jadid, Israeli warplanes attacked the office, located between the Ras al-Naba area and the Sodeco Square commercial center, with two air-to-surface missiles. Earlier the Israeli army had warned the Ba’ath Party to vacate the building.
Much of the targeted building was destroyed during the airstrike, Xinhua news agency quoted al-Jadeed as saying. Ambulances were dispatched to the area to clear debris and search for victims.
The Israeli military has intensified airstrikes on Lebanon since September 23, escalating the conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel launched a ground operation into Lebanon, crossing its northern border.
The death toll from Israeli air strikes on Lebanon since the beginning of the war on 8 October 2023 has reached 3,452, and 14,664 people have been injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
–IANS
FZ/
