Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem has been elected as the new chief of the Lebanese resistance movement after his predecessor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was martyred in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut last month.

In a statement, Hezbollah expressed its commitment to upholding the legacy of Sheikh Qassem’s predecessor, describing the election as part of a sacred mission. “We pledge to God Almighty, to the soul of our beloved martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (may God be pleased with him), to the martyrs, to the Islamic resistance fighters, and to our resilient and loyal people, to work together to fulfill Hezbollah’s principles and goals.”

Hezbollah emphasized the organization’s dedication to carrying forward the cause of resistance. The Shura Council expressed its hope for Sheikh Qassem’s success in leading Hezbollah, entrusting him with the responsibility of preserving the movement’s resistance and raising its banner until victory.

On September 28, Hezbollah released a statement announcing the martyrdom of its Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, joining a handful of Resistance leaders who dedicated their lives for the sake of fighting against the Israeli occupation.

Hezbollah began its statement with the verse: Let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, and then is slain, or he subdues [the enemy], soon We shall give him a great reward. [Surah al-Nisa’, verse 74]

“His eminence, the leader of the Resistance, the pious servant of God, has passed on to God as a great leader, a brave martyr, joining the martyrs of Karbala…on the path of prophets,” the statement read.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it targeted Israeli positions in the Tel Aviv suburbs on Tuesday including an intelligence base, and launched rockets at a naval base in north Israel’s Haifa.

The attacks came after a tense night in Lebanon, with state media reporting heavy Israeli bombardment in and near south Beirut and authorities saying four people including a child were killed in strikes near the country’s biggest public hospital.

Hezbollah fighters launched a “salvo of rockets” targeting the “Glilot base of the 8200 military intelligence unit”, the resistance group said in a statement, after claiming similar attacks on the base in the Tel Aviv suburbs the night before.

Also Tuesday, the group said it fired rockets at another position in Tel Aviv’s suburbs, and launched a “salvo of rockets” targeting the “Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa”, a coastal city in northern Israel.

The Israeli military said in a statement that following sirens “in central Israel, approximately five projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon. The majority… were intercepted”.

It also said that following sirens “in the Upper Galilee area and northern Golan Heights, approximately 15 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon” with some intercepted and the rest falling in open areas.

It said it was not immediately aware of any casualties.

A Lebanese security official told AFP news agency that the country’s national airline had to switch landing strips late Monday after Israeli strikes near Beirut’s only international airport hit close to the main runway.

On September 23, Israel escalated its air campaign against targets in Lebanon and later sent in ground forces after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah, acting in support of Hamas resistance group fighting Israel in Gaza.

At least 2,467 people have been killed in a year of violence, according to Lebanese authorities, more than half of them since September 23, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

हमास का नया मुखिया याह्या सिनवार भी मारा गया है. इजरायल ने उसकी मौत की पुष्टि कर दी है. याह्या सिनवार को पिछले साल 7 अक्टूबर के हमले का मास्टरमाइंट माना जाता है. 7 अक्टूबर को हमास ने इजरायल पर बड़ा हमला किया था. इस हमले में 1200 इजरायलियों की मौत हो गई थी. इसके बाद ही इजरायल ने हमास के खिलाफ जंग का ऐलान किया था. 

इजरायली विदेश मंत्री इसरायल काट्ज ने कहा कि 7 अक्टूबर के नरसंहार और अत्याचार के लिए जिम्मेदार याह्या सिनवार को आईडीएफ ने मार गिराया. वहीं, इजरायली पीएम बेंजामिन नेतन्याहू ने कहा कि हमने 7 अक्टूबर का हिसाब बराबर कर लिया है लेकिन जंग अभी बाकी है.

याह्या सिनवार इस साल अगस्त में इस्माइल हानिया की मौत के बाद हमास का मुखिया बना था. इस साल 31 जुलाई को इस्माइल हानिया को इजरायल ने मार गिराया था. 

याह्या सिनवार को कई नामों से जाना जाता है. उसे कोई ‘हमास का ओसामा बिन लादेन’ कहता था, तो कोई ‘खान यूनिस का जल्लाद’. इजरायल उसे ‘आतंक का हिटलर’ कहता है. वो इतना क्रूर था कि हमास से गद्दारी और इजरायल से वफादारी के शक में फिलिस्तीनियों तक को तड़पा कर मारता रहा है. वो बच्चों के साथ खुलेआम बंदूकों की नुमाइश करता है. उनकी मासूमियत को आतंक के जहर से मार डालता है. उसके बाद बच्चों पर ज्यादती का इल्जाम इजरायल पर लगाता है. गाजा में फैला टनल नेटवर्क उसकी ताकत है, जिसमें उसके कई राज दफन हैं.

‘बुचर ऑफ खान यूनिस’, जिसे लादेन भी कहा जाता है

याह्या सिनवार को ‘बुचर ऑफ खान यूनिस’ भी कहा जाता है. 7 अक्टूबर के हमले के बाद इजरायली मीडिया ने उसकी तुलना कुख्यात आतंकवादी ओसामा बिन लादेन से की थी. इजरायल डिफेंस फोर्सेस के प्रवक्ता लेफ्टिनेंट कर्नल रिचर्ड हेचट ने उसकी तुलना ‘बुराई का चेहरा’ से की थी. उसे ‘चलता फिरता मरा हुआ आदमी’ तक बताया था. सिनेवार का जन्म साल 1962 में साउथ गाजा के खान यूनिस में एक फिलिस्तीनी शरणार्थी शिविर में हुआ था. यही वजह है कि उसे ‘खान यूनिस का कसाई’ भी कहा जाता है. वो खुलेआम कत्लेआम करने से नहीं चूकता.

साल 2015 में अमेरिका ने घोषित किया ‘ग्लोबल टेरेरिस्ट’

साल 1988 में इजरायली एजेंसियों ने याह्या सिनवार को गिरफ्तार किया था. उस वक्त याह्या की उम्र 19 साल थी. उसके खिलास केस चला और उसे चार आजीवन कारावास की सजा सुनाई गई. लेकिन साल 2011 में इजरायल और हमास के बीच हुए एक डील के तहत उसे रिहा कर दिया गया. साल 2015 में अमेरिकी विदेशी विभाग ने उसको ‘ग्लोबल टेरेरिस्ट’ घोषित किया था. कुछ समय पहले ही फ्रांस ने उसकी संपत्ति फ्रीज कर दी और उसे अपनी राष्ट्रीय प्रतिबंध सूची में शामिल कर दिया. इतने प्रतिबंध और विरोध के बावजूद उसका रसूख कम नहीं हुआ.

22 सालों तक जेल में रहा था सिनवार

याह्या सिनवार 1988 से 2011 के बीच लगभग 22 सालों तक इजरायल की जेलों में रहा. कहा जाता है. 2011 में जब कैदियों की अदला-बदली का समझौता हुआ, तो इजरायल के एक सैनिक गिलाड शलिट के बदले में इजरायल ने 1027 फिलीस्तीनी इजराइली अरब कैदियों को रिहा किया. इनमें याह्या सिनवार भी शामिल थे.

7 अक्टूबर को इजरायल में हुए नरसंहार की रची साजिश

याह्या सिनेवार 80 के दशक के अंत में हमास का सदस्य बना था. लेकिन बहुत तेजी से उसने अपनी एक अलग पहचान बना ली. कुछ सालों के बाद ही वो हमास के आंतरिक खुफिया तंत्र के संस्थापकों में से एक बन गया. इसे मजद के नाम से जाना जाता है. दो इजरायली सैनिक और चार फिलिस्तीनियों की हत्या के जुर्म में वो दो दशक से ज्यादा समय इजरायली जेल में बिता चुका है. जेल से बाहर निकलने के बाद वो ज्यादा खूंखार हो गया. उसने इजरायल को खत्म करने की कसम खाई और 7 अक्टूबर को हुए नरसंहार की पूरी साजिश रच डाली.

गाजा की सुरंगों में भागता देखा गया था याह्या सिनवार

इस नरसंहार का बदला लेने के लिए इजरायली सेना गाजा में घुस गई. क्या जमीन, क्या हवा और क्या समंदर, हर तरफ से हमास के खिलाफ जंग छेड़ दी. इजरायली सेना के हवाई हमलों से पूरा गाजा दहल उठा. लेकिन हमास के टनल नेटवर्क ने उसे बचाए रखा. फरवरी में इजरायली डिफेंस फोर्सेस ने एक वीडियो जारी करके दावा किया था कि याह्या सिनेवार अपने परिवार के साथ सुरंग के जरिए भागा था. 10 अक्टूबर को खान यूनिस में स्थित टनल नेटवर्क से वो गुजरते हुए दिखाई दिया था. उसके साथ उसका भाई, पत्नी और बच्चे भी नजर आए थे. 
 
हमास चीफ याह्या सिनवार की क्रूरता के कुख्यात किस्से

याह्या सिनवार की क्रूरता के कई किस्से कुख्यात हैं. एक बार इजराइल के लिए जासूसी करने के शक में उसने एक शख्स को जिंदा दफन करवा दिया था. भयावह बात ये है कि इसके लिए उसने कुदाल का इस्तेमाल नहीं किया था, बल्कि चम्मच से क्रब खोदने का आदेश आरोपी के भाई को ही दिया था. साल 2015 में उसने हमास एक कमांडर को बुरी मौत दी थी. उस पर समलैंगिकता और रुपयों की हेरा-फेरी का आरोप था. उसके बारे में कहा जाता है कि वो हर बार मौत को भी मात दे देता है. उसके मरने की कई बार अफवाह उड़ी, लेकिन वो जिंदा है.

The sun sets over the Mediterranean, casting a golden hue over the Lebanese coastline: but this idyllic scene belies the turbulent reality unfolding just a few miles away. In the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the air is thick with sea salt and tension, as warplanes reverberate relentlessly over ancient streets.

This is not just another chapter in country’s long history of conflict. It is a harrowing narrative of survival and resilience in the face of a renewed onslaught. It began as a whisper—a distant hum of engines high above. But the stillness of the morning quickly gave way to chaos as the sky darkened with the shadows of Israeli warplanes.

In Saida or Sidon, the third-largest city of Lebanon, 40 km south of Beirut, the familiar buzz was a foreboding signal of what was to come. As the bombs began to fall, the city transformed. Streets, once filled with the morning rush of commuters and students, fell eerily silent, punctuated only by the deadly crack of airstrikes. 

I lay in bed on October 1, listening to the familiar rumble of warplanes overhead. But this time, the noise was louder—too loud. The airstrikes were closer, targeting the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp. The blasts rattled the windows, and my heart sank.

Within moments, Saida was engulfed in fear. Venturing out later, I witnessed the chaos: homes shattered, dust swirling, people huddling in despair. In the heart of Saida lies Ain el-Hilweh, a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp, which was an epicentre of despair that morning.

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I was there not as a journalist but as a resident, my family’s roots deeply entrenched in the fabric of this community. The first bomb landed close to the marketplace. In the place where laughter and chatter were once the soundtrack, now screams filled the air. Buildings, flimsy against the might of the missiles, crumbled. Dust and smoke rose, shrouding the camp in suffocating debris.

Over 71 people perished in Ain el-Delb on September 29—a massacre that left families devastated and streets empty.

When mountains cried

Away from the immediate border, even mountainous towns such as Arab Salim and Kfarhouna suffered. I travelled there from Saida, following the trail of displacement, as residents fled their sanctuaries. The mountains, resolute in their stoic beauty, echoed with explosions. Homes were scarred by shrapnel. At one crowded makeshift shelter, I met Layla, a little girl who had been looking forward to school and to seeing her friends and teachers after the summer break. Now, her eyes wide in fear, she said softly, “I just want to go back to school.” Her wish was a heartbreaking reflection of the shattered innocence of countless children. They have lost their toys, their sense of safety, and, in many cases, their families. These children are growing up amid the constant boom of bombs and the acrid smell of destruction.

Nearby, an elderly man named Khalil recounted the loss of his home in Ghazieh, his narrative punctuated by pauses heavy with grief. The shelter, a microcosm of the broader crisis, was overflowing with similar stories.

Each person I spoke with, added a thread to the tapestry of this conflict—a strand of loss, hope, and enduring spirit. Organisations such as the Nashit Cultural and Social Association worked tirelessly to restore a semblance of childhood, with their volunteers running activities, games and creative sessions.

In the dusty corner of a makeshift shelter, an elderly man from Nabatieh said he had lost one son in a previous conflict, and now, in this latest round of violence, his second son was gone. Sitting with his wife—whom he tenderly called “the mother of the martyr”—he shared his story. “We fled the bombing, but what we’ve lost cannot be replaced,” he said. They left behind everything they knew—their home, their land, and now lived with the uncertainty of ever returning.

The shelters are packed with people like him: families who lost everything and have nowhere to go. When the bombs fell, they had fled, leaving behind not just homes but their histories and memories. For the elderly, the journey was particularly cruel. They could not move quickly, and the harsh conditions of the shelters took their toll.

Alaa, an accountant from Jbeil, recounted the horror of losing her cousins on the first day of the Israeli bombings. “I will never forget the sound of the explosion,” she said. Her uncle’s wife and daughter, and her cousin’s wife and children, all were gone in a single instant. Their house was flattened to rubble.

“They were shredded so badly that civil defence found only body parts,” she whispered, her voice heavy with anguish. Alaa spoke of the panic as her family fled, the roads choked with cars as the bombs fell all around them. “A shell fell on a car ahead of us,” she recalled. “It was burnt to a crisp. The whole family inside was killed.” They spent hours on the road, choking on the smell of burning flesh, away from their loved ones, fearing the worst.

Elio, a filmmaker from Dahiyeh, spoke of the empty streets and the fear that gripped his neighbourhood. “Most people have left their homes,” he said. “But my mom and dad are sick.” His cousin’s son was killed in a bombing near Baalbek, and the family was too afraid to attend the funeral. “People in Dahiyeh remember the destruction in 2006,” he said. “We know Israel isn’t just hitting Hezbollah; they are hitting everyone.”

For Elias, a winemaker in the Beqaa Valley, the war struck close to home, literally. “A missile struck next to my winery,” he told me. “The day of the bombing, I got a message saying anyone near Hezbollah sites should leave immediately. Thirty minutes later, a missile hit.” He moved his family to Byblos but returned to the Beqaa to protect his livelihood. “I want to work,” he said. “This is part of creating peace—refusing to surrender to war.”

The death of olive orchards

The economic consequences of this conflict are as devastating as the human toll. The southern villages of Lebanon, reliant on agriculture, are in ruins. Bombs have obliterated fields and olive orchards, carefully tended over decades, are reduced to ash.

One farmer from Yarin spoke of his heartbreak: “I waited all season to harvest my olives. Now everything is gone. I don’t know how we’ll survive the winter.” Farmers, labourers, and shop owners all face the same grim reality. Even if the fighting stops today, the economic damage will linger for years.

Lebanon’s political paralysis has only deepened the humanitarian crisis. The country has not had an effective government since 2009, with political infighting preventing any meaningful progress. The caretaker government lacks the power to address the economic collapse or the military escalation. Lebanese citizens live in uncertainty, abandoned by their leaders in their hour of greatest need. For those in the south, the situation is worse, caught as they are, between political dysfunction and relentless bombardment.

The three largest religious sects in Lebanon are awarded the highest government posts under a sectarian system that governs the country’s power structure. The Prime Minister must be a Sunni Muslim, the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shia Muslim, and the President must be a Maronite Christian. The powers of the President include approving legislation, choosing the Prime Minister with assistance from Parliament, and managing the military forces.

The Speaker of the Parliament oversees the sessions and organises the operations of the legislative body, while the Prime Minister leads the government and oversees the execution of policies. The lack of consensus among political groupings on a nominee is the cause of the current impasse in the Presidential selection process, which has brought Parliament to a standstill.

‘We rely on our neighbours’

And yet, there is a glimmer of hope. Amid the rubble and despair, I saw people helping each other, sharing what little they had. In one shelters Mohammad Issa, a young man from Ghazieh—took it upon himself to provide free haircuts to displaced people. “They need someone to help ease their burden,” he told me. It was a small act, but it made a difference. It was a reminder that even in the darkest times, there are some who refuse to give up on their humanity.

Lara, an editor in Beirut, spoke of the mutual aid initiatives that had sprung up across the country. “Soup kitchens are popping up,” she said. “People are distributing mattresses, food, and water. They are collecting money for diapers and milk.”

In a country where the state has often failed its people, the community has stepped in. “There’s a viral video of a Christian man with a big cross on his shirt offering free labour and parts to people whose cars broke down,” she said. “People in Lebanon are accustomed to doing this kind of work because we have never really had a strong state. We rely on our neighbours.”

This spirit of solidarity is what keeps Lebanon going. It is what allows people like Mohammad Issa to offer free haircuts and farmers like Elias to continue working their fields. It is what allows children like Layla to still dream of returning to school, even as the world around them crumbles. Despite everything—the destruction, the fear, the loss—the people of southern Lebanon have shown incredible resilience.

They have lived through wars before, and they know what it means to rebuild. “We’ve rebuilt our homes before, and we will do it again,” said Fatima, a young photographer from Houmine al Fauqa. “Our blood has become one with the soil of the south. We stand together, no matter what.”

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As I left Saida that day, the city was eerily quiet. Streets that once bustled with life were empty, shops closed, and the air heavy with tension. Every face I saw was etched with fear of what had happened and of what was still to come. And yet, in the shelters, I also saw determination. Families who had lost everything still held on to the hope that they would one day return home.

Lebanon finds itself caught in a cycle of conflict and instability. Each attack exacerbates the suffering of its people and adds another layer to the political and economic crises.

The international community sends aid, but it is never enough. What Lebanon needs is a real commitment to peace: a chance for its people to live without the constant fear of war. As the bombs fall and the world watches, the question remains: when will the violence end? When will the people of the south finally have the chance to live in peace?

The international community needs to work towards a lasting solution, one that addresses the root causes of the conflict and provides the people of Lebanon with stability. They wait for peace because they deserve nothing less.

Rawan Sayyed is a journalist who works as a content creator and news writer. She has also completed several documentary filmmaking projects.

The Israeli army on Saturday threatened to target ambulances in southern Lebanon, claiming they are being used by Hezbollah to “transport fighters and weapons”.

The warning came on a day when a fifth staffer of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was wounded in yet another strike, after Israel admitted that its forces fired at a ‘threat’ near a UN peacekeeping position and that a “hit” was responsible for wounding two Blue Helmets.

The incidents of shooting at UN peacekeepers in past few days have sparked a fierce diplomatic backlash.

The Israeli military on Saturday threatened the people of Lebanon not to return to their homes. “For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice. Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk,” the military warned.

The UNIFIL said that gunfire hit a peacekeeper, the fifth wounded in south Lebanon, near its headquarters in Naqura.

After the latest warning by the Israeli forces, Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UNIFIL, said UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon would not move from the border area despite five of their members being wounded and damage to facilities.

He said an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah in past weeks risked turning into “a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone”, and that the only solution was “diplomatic”.

The Israeli army earlier announced very “limited” incursions into Lebanon.

Tenenti said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “up to five kilometres (three miles) from the Blue Line” separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused. “There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the UNSC,” he said.

Michael Higgins, the president of Ireland which has troops in the mission, had earlier said Israel was “demanding that the entire UNIFIL operating under UN mandates walk away,” which he called “outrageous”.

UNIFIL is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006. Its role was bolstered by UNSC Resolution 1701, which stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon. At a summit on Friday, southern European leaders said the “attacks” on UNIFIL violated Resolution 1701 and must end.

Israel had not asked UNIFIL to evacuate its headquarters in the town of Naqura, further north. But in recent days, the mission said, its forces have “repeatedly” come under fire in Naqura as well as in other positions.

Since Sept 23, Israel has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, and displaced more than a million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel’s crimes denounced

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visited the site of the deadliest Israeli strike on central Beirut in recent weeks, an AFP photographer said.

A source close to Hezbollah said that the air raid in the densely populated Basta area, which killed at least 22 people, had targeted the Iran-backed Leba­nese group’s security chief Wafiq Safa.

Speaking to the press, accompanied by two Hezbollah lawmakers, Ghalibaf denounced what he called Israel’s “crimes”. “International organisations and the UN Security Council have the capability (to stop Israel) but they are unfortunately keeping silent,” he said.

Earlier, Ghalibaf met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who told him his government’s priority was “to work towards a ceasefire”.

इजरायल और लेबनान के आतंकवादी संगठन हिज्बुल्लाह के बीच लड़ाई बढ़ती जा रही है. हिज्बुल्लाह इजरायल में हवाई हमले कर रहा है और वहीं लेबनान में इजरायल का ऑपरेशन जारी है. इस बीच इजरायली PM बेंजामिन नेतन्याहू ने मंगलवार को कहा कि इजरायली बलों ने हिज्बुल्लाह के मारे जा चुके चीफ हसन नसरल्लाह के उत्तराधिकारी को खत्म कर दिया है.

पहले से रिकॉर्ड किए गए एक वीडियो मैसेज में नेतन्याहू ने कहा, ‘हमने हिज्बुल्लाह की ताकत को कम कर दिया है. हमने हजारों आतंकवादियों को मार गिराया, जिनमें खुद नसरल्लाह, उसका उत्तराधिकारी और यहां तक ​​कि उत्तराधिकारी का विकल्प भी शामिल है.’

रक्षा मंत्री ने भी जताई थी आशंका

हालांकि नेतन्याहू ने किसी नाम का खुलासा नहीं किया. इससे पहले इजरायली रक्षा मंत्री योव गैलेंट ने कहा था कि मारे जा चुके हिज्बुल्लाह चीफ हसन नसरल्ला के संभावित उत्तराधिकारी हाशेम सफीद्दीन को संभवतः ‘मार दिया गया’ है. न्यूज एजेंसी रॉयटर्स ने बताया कि यह स्पष्ट नहीं है कि नेतन्याहू ने किसे ‘उत्तराधिकारी का विकल्प’ कहा.

लेबनान के लोगों को किया संबोधित

वीडियो में इजरायली प्रधानमंत्री ने लेबनान के लोगों को संबोधित किया. उन्होंने लेबनान के लोगों से ‘खुद को हिज्बुल्लाह से आजाद करने’ के लिए कहा. उन्होंने कहा कि इजरायल को ‘अपनी रक्षा करने का अधिकार है.’ नेतन्याहू ने दावा किया कि हिज्बुल्लाह इस समय बीते कई वर्षों की तुलना में सबसे कमजोर है. 

लेबनानी लोगों को संबोधित करते हुए नेतन्याहू ने उनसे बदलाव के अवसर का लाभ उठाने की अपील करते हुए कहा, ‘अब आप अपने देश को वापस ले सकते हैं और इसे शांति और समृद्धि के रास्ते पर वापस ला सकते हैं.’ नेतन्याहू का बयान क्षेत्र में चल रहे तनाव के बीच आया है, जहां हिज्बुल्लाह की लंबे समय से बड़े पैमाने पर सैन्य उपस्थिति रही है.

At least six people were killed and seven injured in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut overnight, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Thursday, as governments around the world scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the country. The airstrike hit near the capital’s residential Bashoura district.

Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the attack, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, which are prohibited by international law for use near civilian populations. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in conflict-hit southern Lebanon.

NOTE: This article includes images of wounded children that may disturb some readers. 

CBS News’ Haley Ott reported that, shortly before the strike, Lebanese health officials said 46 people had been killed and 85 injured by Israeli strikes in the country over the last 24 hours.

Israel started launching ground incursions into southern Lebanon this week, ramping up its fight against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah while continuing its devastating war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Israel’s air and ground operations in Gaza killed more than 50 people near the city of Khan Younis on Wednesday, including children, according to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. 

The war in the densely packed Palestinian territory has killed more than 41,500 people since it was sparked almost a year ago by Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack. 

The fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in Lebanon — a much larger, better armed group than Hamas — was described by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday as intense, as it confirmed eight soldiers had died in the operations.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict in Middle East.

Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. said his country had launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a deterrent to further Israeli violence. His Israeli counterpart called the barrage an “unprecedented act of aggression.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to retaliate against Iran, while an Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel did so.

President Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. and its other partners were in discussions with Netanyahu’s government about Israel’s pending response to the Iranian attack, which Mr. Biden has stressed should be “in proportion” to Iran’s missile salvo, which was largely thwarted by the U.S. ally’s advanced missile defense systems. 

Mr. Biden said he would not support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the missile attack, but that the U.S. and its global allies supported Israel’s right to respond.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this week that Iran’s attack was “totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” but that “Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack.”

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the southern Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which saw terrorists kill 1,200 Israelis and take 251 more as hostages into Gaza, according to the Israeli government. The fighting has increased dramatically over the last two weeks, since Israel was accused of blowing up thousands of Hezbollah members’ communications devices and assassinating the group’s senior leader in a targeted strike in Beirut.

Japan on Thursday dispatched two Self Defense Force planes to prepare for a possible airlift of Japanese citizens from Lebanon. And the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday her government had booked 500 seats on commercial aircraft for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families to leave Lebanon on Saturday.    

Israel bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people, after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes against Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.

Israel said it conducted a precise air strike on Beirut.

Reuters witnesses reported hearing a massive blast, and a security source said it targeted a building in central Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood close to parliament, the nearest Israeli strikes have come to Lebanon’s seat of government.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb on Oct. 3. 2024.

At least six people were killed and seven wounded, Lebanese health officials said.

A photo being circulated on Lebanese WhatsApp groups, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a heavily damaged building with its first floor on fire.

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Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said.

A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, Israel said on Wednesday eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbor.

The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units joined its ground operations in Lebanon on Wednesday as Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s promise of retaliation raised concerns that the oil-producing Middle East could be caught up in a wider conflict.

At least eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in the regime’s ground aggression in Lebanon, Israeli media says, a day after the regime launched a cross-border ground incursion into southern parts of the Arab country.

Since the onset of Israel’s ground aggression into Lebanon on Tuesday, at least 14 Israeli soldiers have been killed during clashes with Hezbollah fighters with many reported injuries among the invaders, Sky News Arabia, citing unnamed Israeli sources.

Furthermore, Israeli Army Radio said that a commando unit faced Hezbollah fighters in a building in a southern Lebanese village, prompting medical rescue teams to respond for the regime’s injured soldiers.

A statement by the Israeli army said on Wednesday that an Israeli soldier had so far been killed “during combat in Lebanon.”

In a follow-up statement, however, the Israeli army admitted that the death toll among its forces had risen to eight.

The occupying regime has for long had a policy of not disclosing the true number of soldiers killed in combat and providing significantly lower death toll figures.

Separately on Wednesday, Hezbollah said in a statement that while “an Israeli enemy force was trying to encircle the town of Yaroun from the direction of the forest,” Hezbollah fighters managed to either kill or wound all members of the invaders through detonating “a special explosive device.”

There has been a major escalation in Israel’s barbarism in Lebanon that saw the regime assassinating Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on southern Beirut on September 27.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has passed the 1,700 mark with nearly 8,770 injured, according to Lebanese government data. In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.