BEIRUT (AFP) – An Israeli air strike killed at least 22 people in central Beirut on Thursday as Israeli ground troops in Lebanon were accused of firing on the United Nation’s (UN) peacekeeping headquarters, injuring two Blue Helmets.
The raid on Beirut, where an AFP journalist heard several loud explosions, was the third such attack on the centre of the Lebanese capital since Israel escalated its campaign last month.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry issued the updated death toll and said the number of injured had risen to 117.
AFP live TV footage showed two plumes of smoke billowing between densely packed buildings, while there was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities about the nature of the target.
A Lebanese security source, without giving further details, said a “Hezbollah figure” was targeted after a series of killings of top officials.
Most Israeli strikes have targeted the south Beirut area, not the city’s centre.
The attack came the same day the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon accused Israeli soldiers of “repeatedly” firing on its positions, including with a tank, leaving two Indonesian soldiers with injuries.
European Union chief Charles Michel said yesterday that “an attack against a UN peace mission is not responsible, is not acceptable”, after Italy and Spain both slammed the attack.
Washington said that while Israel targets Hezbollah facilities “it is critical that they not threaten UN peacekeepers’ safety and security”.
The Israeli military said it had been operating against Hezbollah militants near UNIFIL headquarters and had “instructed the UN forces in the area to remain in protected spaces”.
Israel has been pounding Hezbollah in Lebanon since September 23 in an escalated campaign that has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced more than a million others, according to an AFP tally of Health Ministry figures.
