BEIRUT

At least two people were killed and 22 injured in an Israeli airstrike late Sunday targeting an electronics store in the Mar Elias area of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Two of the injured are in critical condition, said the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the airstrike targeted a shop selling electronics and computers on Mar Elias Street, a densely populated area in the heart of Beirut.

Firefighting teams were attempting to contain the fires, while the sounds of exploding batteries and electronic devices could be heard, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare over Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,400 people have been killed, over 14,600 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region is on the brink of a regional war, Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 this year.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala