Beirut pummelled by Israeli strikes as three Lebanese soldiers killed in south

Israel recommenced daily attacks on the capital after a brief lull last week

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At least 17 Israeli air strikes hit Beirut late on Wednesday, while three Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli fire in southern Lebanon during a rescue operation.

After a brief lull last week, Israel has recommenced its daily attacks on the Lebanese capital. At least one person was killed and five injured in strikes on Jnah in southern Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli army gave no warning or displacement orders before the attacks which caused widespread destruction, flattening six residential buildings near the area of Laylaki.

Al Manar, a television station backed by Hezbollah, said one of its cameramen was killed in the attacks. The Israeli army claimed to be attacking Hezbollah weapon caches. Broadcaster Al Mayadeen said an Israeli strike hit an office it had vacated in Beirut.

In Khodr, a village near the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, at least seven people were killed and 14 were injured in Israeli attacks there. In Halaniya, also in the region, at least five people were killed in Israeli bombings.

Three soldiers were killed on Thursday morning in Yater, southern Lebanon while trying to evacuate injured civilians, the Lebanese Armed Forces said. While the army has mostly remained on the margins of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, it has increasingly come under Israeli attacks.

“The Israeli enemy targeted Lebanese army personnel in the vicinity of Yater village, in the Bint Jbeil area of the south, while carrying out an operation to evacuate wounded, which led to the deaths of three martyrs, including an officer,” the army said.

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  Damaged buildings on October 24, following Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs. Reuters

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  A damaged building at the site of a deadly Israeli strike in the Jnah district of the Lebanese capital. EPA

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  At least 17 Israeli air strikes hit Beirut. Reuters

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  The attacks caused widespread destruction, flattening residential buildings in the city. Reuters

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  Flames and smoke rise from buildings hit by Israeli air strikes on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. AP Photo

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  Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, seen from Baabda, Lebanon. Reuters

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  The Israeli army claimed it was attacking Hezbollah weapons caches. AP Photo

In a phone call with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his “deep concern about the reports of strikes against the Lebanese Armed Forces”.

The strikes on Lebanon came as Hezbollah fired precision missiles at Tel Aviv while claiming to have launched a new type of attack drone. About 50 rockets were launched at northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday morning, the Israeli army said, adding that some were intercepted while others crashed. Israel's emergency services said it was treating two men with moderate shrapnel injuries, who were taken to a medical centre in Nahariya.

On Wednesday, Israeli strikes pounded the historic city of Tyre, regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. At least 16 people were injured in the attacks, which caused widespread destruction in the centre of the Unesco-listed city.

More than 2,500 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon since the conflict broke out.

In Paris, France is hosting a conference aimed at raising aid for Lebanon and finding a diplomatic path to ending Israel's war on the country.

One proposition floated is bolstering and introducing the UN Security Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. As part of the resolution, which was never fully implemented, the Lebanese Army and peacekeepers would be the only forces allowed in the deep south of Lebanon.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Beirut could deploy 8,000 soldiers as part of a ceasefire plan but appealed for international financial support and training.

“The storm we are currently witnessing is unlike any other, because it carries the seeds of total destruction, not only for our country but for all human values,” Mr Mikati told the Paris conference.