Israeli air strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs in 'most violent night yet'

Policeman killed in southern Lebanon in first death of a member of the Internal Security Forces in an Israeli attack since conflict broke out

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Israel launched more than 30 air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs overnight on Saturday, while a policeman was killed in an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon on Sunday. State media in Lebanon described the Saturday night attacks on Beirut as the most violent since fighting escalated two weeks ago.

The attacks were heard across Beirut, covering the city in black smoke and sending fireballs into the air as buildings shook. The strikes hit neighbourhoods including Dahieh, Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry and the road leading to Lebanon's only international airport. Lebanese authorities said a warehouse storing medical supplies was hit on the airport road along with a fuel station.

The killing of the policeman in southern Lebanon on Sunday marks the first time a member of the country's Internal Security Forces has died in an Israeli attack since conflict broke out a year ago. Sergeant Habib Abu Murad was killed in a drone attack on Jdeidet Marjayoun in southern Lebanon on Sunday. Another three people were killed and two were injured.

Lebanon and Israel are technically enemy states, but the year-long conflict has been fought between Hezbollah and Israel, while Lebanese state security forces have stayed almost entirely on the sidelines. Earlier this week, two Lebanese Army (LAF) soldiers were killed in Israeli attacks. The LAF returned fire, the first time they have done so since fighting broke out last October.

Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 29 people and wounded 93, according to the health ministry. Three paramedics were killed in an Israeli strike on a medical centre in the town of Jouaiya in southern Lebanon, the Civil Defence announced on Sunday.

More than 50 paramedics have been killed in the last two weeks as Israel has massively ramped up its bombardment of Lebanon. Medical workers and rescuers have come under increasing attack, with at least six hospitals closed in Lebanon while others remain almost non-operational. Earlier this week Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad said the targeting of health facilities and paramedics constituted “a war crime”.

On Sunday in Baalbek, in eastern Lebanon, Israeli bombs landed in the city's historic temple complex which dates back to Roman times. Bachir Khodr, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel governorate, said the bombs landed 500-700 metres from the ancient ruins.

Hezbollah said it launched attack drones at an Israeli military base near the northern city of Haifa on Sunday. Fighters from the group "launched an air assault with a squadron of attack drones on the maintenance and rehabilitation base south of Haifa", it said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it intercepted a rocket fired from northern Gaza. "Several projectiles were identified crossing from the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory," the military said. "One projectile was intercepted, and the rest fell in an open area."

Fresh displacement orders

The Israeli army issued more displacement orders for residents, many of whom had fled earlier attacks. Large explosions were heard across the suburbs around midnight as people were ordered out of several neighbourhoods, including Haret Hreik, Choueifat and Burj Al Barajneh.

In the Sabra area, located near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments yet seen in the conflict.

Israel’s military said it was bombing near Beirut. It also said about 30 missiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israel, with some intercepted.

More than 2,000 people have been killed and 1.2 million people displaced by Israeli attacks on Lebanon since cross-border fighting began on October 8 last year. The majority have been displaced in the past month, after the Israeli army intensified aerial attacks across the country and launched a ground invasion. Most of the 900 government-run shelters across Lebanon are full, the UN said on Saturday, with many people forced to sleep in parks, on benches and on the beach.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the attacks, saying on Saturday: “We are not done yet. Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.”

The Israeli leader criticised Emmanuel Macron after the French President called for halting arms sales to Israel if the hardware is used in Gaza. Speaking at a summit on Saturday, Mr Macron said a ceasefire is “necessary in Gaza, as in Lebanon”.

“We can’t demand a ceasefire while also sending weapons,” he said. “That’s just consistency.”

The latest violence comes as the war in Gaza nears its first anniversary and air strikes continue on the enclave.

At least 21 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a mosque sheltering displaced Palestinians in Deir Al Balah on Sunday morning, according to the official Wafa news agency. Several children were among the dead, with the toll expected to rise. Dozens of people were wounded, some severely, and were taken to the nearby Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Medical sources at the facility said the hospital, suffering from a severe lack of supplies, was struggling to treat the injured.