Israeli attack on Sidon kills three and injures Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers

Latest strikes come as Netanyahu and Trump discuss US support for Israel

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Three people were killed and several Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers were injured by Israeli strikes on the southern city of Sidon on Thursday.

Those killed were in a car when it was hit by a drone strike. Three soldiers at a nearby checkpoint were injured in the attack, the army said.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as Unifil, said five personnel were injured while travelling a vehicle nearby. The peacekeepers had only just arrived in the country and were on the way to positions in the south, Unifil added.

It came as Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president-elect Donald Trump spoke about Washington's support for Israel and action against the “Iranian threat”.

A series of nine “violent raids” were conducted on seven different areas across the southern suburbs, including Haret Hreik and Burj Al Barjaneh, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. Plumes of smoke and orange flashes lit up the night sky over the densely populated area.

One strike hit about 100 metres from Beirut’s airport overnight, the closest attack to Lebanon’s sole civilian airport since war broke out. The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichai Adraee announced several eviction notices shortly before the attacks, including one for an area right next to the airport.

Despite the bombing, the “airport is operating normally”, Lebanon’s Minister of Public Works Ali Hamish said on Thursday morning.

The Rafic Hariri International Airport has continued to function despite regular Israeli attacks on neighbourhoods adjacent to the terminal. Almost all airlines have suspended flights, with flag carrier Middle East Airlines the only one operating.

The attacks came as the Wednesday death toll from Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon climbed to more than 50, with dozens of others wounded. The updated toll was released overnight by the Health Ministry, which said the search for missing people is still under way across the Baalbek-Hermel region.

The deadliest single attack was in Nasiriyah, where 16 people were killed and 17 others wounded. Ten people were also killed and 15 wounded in a strike on Baalbek city, with casualties confirmed in several other strikes across the Bekaa valley.

At least 30 strikes were reported across the region, according to NNA.

Air strikes continued across the country throughout Thursday, with bombardment reported across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa valley, and near Beirut.

One woman was killed in a strike on the Baalbek town of Harfoush, NNA reported, while attacks on the southern city of Nabatieh partially destroyed a seven-storey building and turned the area into a "war zone."

A drone strike also hit a car near Beirut on a motorway linking the capital to Syria. One person was killed in the attack, a military source told AFP, while a toll was not immediately available from Lebanese state media.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon since the outbreak of cross-border fighting in October last year, which Israel escalated in September into all-out war and a subsequent ground invasion of the south. Entire villages have been destroyed and more than 1.3 million people displaced across the country, with the south and eastern Bekaa valley particularly hard-hit by the Israeli army.

Israel has claimed it is attacking the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, after it began launching rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles at Israel and its military positions in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

On Wednesday, army chief Herzi Halevi said Israel must plan to "expand and deepen" its invasion of southern Lebanon "alongside diplomatic efforts" to reach a ceasefire agreement. Hours later, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump discussed the "Iranian threat," the Israeli PM's office said, adding both leaders "agreed to work together for Israel's security".

Mr Trump was closely aligned with Israel during his last presidency, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and defunding UNRWA, among other steps.

During his recent election campaign, the former president described himself as Israel's strongest ally, going so far as to say Mr Biden should let Israel "finish the job" against Hamas in Gaza.