Israel strikes Beirut suburbs as Lebanon says 12 dead in south

Israeli strikes pummelled south Beirut on Monday, Lebanese official media said, while health authorities reported 12 dead in a pair of attacks in the country's south.

The Israeli military said in a statement Monday afternoon that it had struck "approximately 25 terror targets" belonging to Hezbollah across the country, including in Nabatiyeh, Baalbek, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Beirut and the city's outskirts.

AFPTV images showed heavy smoke rising from the capital's southern suburbs after strikes that began in the morning following successive Israeli military evacuation warnings.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported a third wave of Israeli strikes in south Beirut and its vicinity late Monday afternoon, including "a very violent strike targeting a building in the Tayouneh area" that echoed across the city.

The attacks came after a weekend of heavy raids in the area, despite ongoing efforts to seal a ceasefire deal.

Early Saturday, a deadly strike on central Beirut's densely populated Basta neighbourhood killed at least 29 people, the health ministry said.

Israel's army said Monday it had struck a Hezbollah command centre there, though an official with the Iran-backed group denied reports that a senior member had been targeted.

The Israeli military also issued evacuation warnings Monday for parts of the coastal city of Tyre and the city of Nabatiyeh, both in the south.

The Lebanese health ministry reported a strike on a road near Tyre that left "six dead and body parts" requiring identification, as well as four wounded, while another left "six dead and four wounded" in the nearby town of Maaraka.

  'Dangerous conditions'  

The NNA also reported "a drone strike that targeted a residential complex" in a Druze-majority town on the outskirts of Beirut without prior evacuation calls.

Lebanon's Druze community follows an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and its heartland around Mount Lebanon has largely been spared from the current hostilities.

Lebanon's education ministry suspended classes on Monday in schools, technical institutes and private higher education institutions in Beirut and a number of surrounding areas, citing "the current dangerous conditions".

Hezbollah on Sunday claimed an above-average 50 attacks on Israeli troops, military positions, and towns across the border and in southern Lebanon, while the Israeli army reported 250 projectiles launched into Israeli territory.

On September 23, Israel intensified its air campaign in Lebanon, mainly targeting Hezbollah bastions in the south and east and in south Beirut, later sending ground troops across the border.

Israeli ground forces have entered several south Lebanon villages and towns near the border, including Khiam, where the NNA Monday reported fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon's south (UNIFIL), meanwhile, said Monday it was "seriously concerned" by recent deadly strikes on Lebanese soldiers, which Beirut has blamed on Israel.

While the Lebanese army is not engaged in the Israel-Hezbollah war, it has suffered multiple fatalities among its ranks, including one on Sunday.

The war has killed at least 3,768 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.

The United States, European Union and United Nations have all been actively pushing in recent days for parties to accept a truce in the war.

An Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Israel's security cabinet "will decide on Tuesday evening on the ceasefire deal".