Israeli attack on Beirut claims six more lives

Israel launched another attack on central Beirut early Thursday, killing six people and wounding seven others.

This marked the closest Israeli attack to Lebanon’s seat of government during the ongoing violence in the region.

The attack came after Israel’s deadliest day of invasion in southern Lebanon in a year.

The airstrike targeted a building in the Bachoura neighbourhood near Lebanon’s parliament, according to Israeli officials, while Lebanese health authorities confirmed the casualties.

Reports from local witnesses described a massive explosion, with images circulating on social media showing a building engulfed in flames.

In addition to the attack on Bachoura, three missiles hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, an area considered a Hezbollah stronghold.

Loud explosions were heard as Israeli forces attacked what they claimed to be Hezbollah-affiliated sites.

Dahiyeh had already come under heavy fire from Israeli attacks the previous day.

The attacks follow Israel's significant losses while invading Lebanese front.

On Wednesday, eight Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, marking the first time Israeli forces had suffered such a blow since invading the country earlier in the week.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have since ramped up their invasion, sending infantry and armored units into Lebanon as tensions with Hezbollah continue to escalate.

Hezbollah fighters have engaged Israeli forces in the border region, and repeled an invading Israeli unit, destroying three Israeli Merkava tanks near the town of Maroun El Ras.

The recent spike in violence follows Iran's unprecedented missile barrage on Israel earlier in the week. Over 180 missiles were launched in response to Israel’s assasinatiobn of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a previous attack.

While most of the missiles were intercepted, the attack marked a significant escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran in the region.

The international community, led by the United States, has called for restraint.

US President Joe Biden expressed strong opposition to any Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, urging Israel to respond proportionally.

During a call with Group of Seven (G7) leaders, Biden emphasised the need for diplomatic solutions to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

Despite these calls for de-escalation, Israel has continued its attacks, issuing evacuation orders for towns near the Lebanese border and intensifying strikes on Hezbollah targets.

Over 1.2 million Lebanese citizens have been displaced by the ongoing conflict, and the situation has created a humanitarian crisis, particularly in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have also intensified, killing dozens of civilians in separate attacks on shelters and schools.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an October 7 attack by Hamas.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,700 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost a year into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling years-long blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

As the Israel spreads the conflict across multiple fronts, the violence shows no signs of abating. Israel, in addition to Lebanon, Palestine and Iran, has also been carrying out attacks on Syrian territory.