ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT CARRIED OUT STRIKE ON BEIRUT

Tue 30 July 2024:

A loud blast has been reported and a plume of smoke could be seen rising in al-Dahieh, the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The city has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in retaliation for an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen youngsters.

Israel and the US blamed Hezbollah for the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that two floors of the al-Rabi building, in Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, have collapsed.

Blast reported in Lebanon’s capital Beirut

A loud blast has been reported and a plume of smoke could be seen rising in al-Dahieh, the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The city has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in retaliation for an… pic.twitter.com/8XYTenMcbD

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) July 30, 2024

Israeli military says it carried out strike on Beirut

The military says the attack targeted a Hezbollah commander responsible for a deadly hit on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights “and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians”.

Hezbollah has denied Israeli claims that it carried out the attack on a football field, killing several children.

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I see people in Beirut panicking after the explosion

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reporting from Beirut, Lebanon

In the last few minutes, a large explosion took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah’s heartland in the Lebanese capital.

We do not know if this was an airstrike or a drone strike, but it seems to be a targeted surgical strike.

This appears to be the promised response by the Israeli military against Hezbollah. It is blaming the armed group for killing civilians on Saturday in Majdal Shams, an attack that Hezbollah denied responsibility for.

Lebanon was bracing for this response, but earlier today, a high-ranking Hezbollah official said that no matter what kind of strike Israel carries out, Hezbollah will respond.

Hezbollah’s response will determine the trajectory of a conflict which is now in its 10 months, triggered by the war on Gaza, which has been largely confined to the border area. This strike really changes the nature of this conflict and where we could be heading.

As I drive in the Lebanese capital. I see people panicking, talking on the phone, trying to find out more about what has just happened in the last few minutes.

Heavy traffic and panic in southern Beirut

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reporting from Beirut, Lebanon

I’m in the southern suburbs of Beirut and the explosion took place around 30 minutes ago.

It was clear that a drone attacked an apartment in an area where Hezbollah functions widely.

It’s very heavy traffic right now. Everyone is trying to rush to their houses. Ambulances are rushing to the scene of the attack.

Everybody heard the explosion here, and it’s causing a lot of panic.

This is not a war, for the moment, but it could be the beginning of a series of attacks, Israel is saying, in retaliation to the attack on Majdal Shams.

What’s going to happen next is the big question. Has the Israeli threat to attack Hezbollah ended here? Or is this just the beginning?

Hezbollah will likely respond in a way that maintains its ‘deterrence’: AJ analyst

Hezbollah has long said it will abandon its current rules of engagement with Israel if Israel were to deepen its war beyond the border area of southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah wants to make sure that he does not lose his deterrence. And that’s why Israel did not deepen the war against Hezbollah and beyond the number of kilometers around the border,” according to Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.

Hezbollah has said that strikes deeper into the territory would mean “all rules of war” are off, he said.

“Meaning (Hezbollah) will not abide by any of the rules of war if Israel decides, as it did just now, to target a residential building in the Lebanese capital or south of the Lebanese capital,” he said.

“So Hezbollah will likely have to respond in a way where Israel will not again strike deep inside of Lebanon,” he said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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