'Nowhere is safe in Beirut,' residents say as Israel strikes heart of capital for first time

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed has pledged $100 million for Lebanon relief

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At least four people were killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment block near the Cola Bridge in Beirut overnight, marking the first attack on the city centre since the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began in October last year.

The Lebanese Health Ministry announced the deaths, adding four others were injured. The strike killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the group said, as well as a man living on the floor beneath, residents said.

The Cola area is a busy junction and serves as a key link between Beirut’s airport road and the city centre.

The attack followed the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in another Beirut attack on Friday, as well as assaults on Houthi sites in Yemen on Sunday, as Israel escalates its military campaign.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed pledged $100 million to “the brotherly Lebanese people,” state news agency Wam reported on Monday.

The strike completely destroyed the fifth floor, and personal items were scattered across the street, including books and a wooden map of Palestine. Blood could also be seen on the ground.

The PFLP is a small Palestinian faction, much smaller in terms of resources and members than Hezbollah or Hamas, but it has been active in cross-border fighting with Israel along Lebanon’s southern border in co-ordination with Hezbollah. The group said that the Israeli strike would only make it more “steadfast” and “resilient”.

The attack has left residents in shock, particularly because of its location in the heart of Beirut, fuelling fears that Israel could strike anywhere in the country, not just Hezbollah-controlled areas.

“Nowhere is safe in Beirut,” said Mahmoud, a 36-year-old resident. He said members of the PFLP had just arrived at the flat in a rented car when the strike occurred. “We have no issue welcoming displaced civilians from targeted areas, but these people are politically-affiliated: they put us in danger,” he added.

Jamil Taha, 61, a father of three, lives above the apartment that was hit. “We heard a loud explosion, and my wife screamed. Everything in the kitchen was shattered, there was smoke everyone and the children were on the floor, and the apartment below was on fire,” he said, adding that his neighbour, an old man, also died in the attack.

“It’s terrifying, especially when you have children. You feel like only God can protect you now.”

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on the country's norther border that Israel is willing to "use all of our capabilities, including you”, the latest sign that Israel is considering large-scale ground operations in southern Lebanon. Mr Gallant told troops that they are part of the mission to bring back more than 60,000 Israelis who have been removed from border regions.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the Lebanese government is ready to fully implement the 2006 UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and deploy the army south of the Litani River, which lies about 30km from Lebanon's southern border, Lebanon's National News Agency said. The resolution aimed to end Hezbollah's armed presence south of the river as part of an agreement to stop war with Israel.

Mr Mikati also said he and House Speaker Nabih Berri had agreed that electing a new president to end a nearly two-year vacancy at the top post would only happen after a ceasefire took hold, in comments delivered after the two leaders met in Beirut.

Series of attacks

The attack on Cola is the latest in a series of air strikes across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,000 people in the past two weeks. In the latest round of attacks, at least 105 people were killed and 359 were wounded on Sunday in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in the east, Baalbek-Hermel governorate and Beirut's southern suburbs.

One strike in southern Lebanon killed a school principal and member of Hamas, along with his wife and two children, the Gaza-based armed group said on Monday. Hamas named him as Fath Sharif Abu Al Amin of the Deir Yassin high school and said the strike hit the family's home in Al Ras camp.

On Sunday, Israel expanded its campaign into Yemen, killing at least four people and wounding 49 others in strikes on the port of Hodeidah, according to a toll from the Houthi-run Al Masirah news outlet.

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire at a power plant following Israeli air strikes on Hodeidah in Yemen. Photo: EPA

The Houthi's Supreme Political Council said the city's Mina power station, Al Hali power station and Al Arj power tanks were struck. It said Israel would face a response that “it could not tolerate”.

The Houthis have been carrying out strikes on Israel and in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza after almost a year of Israeli bombardment of the territory following the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 last year. The Houthis have said they will not let up until a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.

“We will not stop or retreat and will continue with the help and success of God. This aggression will not pass without a response,” the group said on Sunday.

On Monday morning, Israel carried out further strikes on Gaza, killing two people in an attack on a school housing displaced people in the northern city of Beit Lahia, official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. About 41,600 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7. The territory's ministry of health says the toll is likely to be higher with thousands missing or under rubble.