Israeli missiles strike southern Beirut suburb

ANKARA

Four Israeli missiles struck the Burj al-Barajneh area in a southern suburb of Beirut, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

The airstrikes targeted a predominantly residential district, a purported stronghold of Hezbollah, in a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group.

Separately, the agency reported that an Israeli drone carried out a guided missile strike targeting a mosque adjacent to the Salah Ghandour hospital in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.

There have been no reports of casualties.

On Friday, the agency reported that four Israeli artillery shells hit near the hospital.

The bombardment injured nine medical personnel, most with severe or critical injuries, forcing the hospital to temporarily close, said the hospital administration.

Earlier on Saturday, at least 13 people were killed in a series of Israeli bombardments of Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and southern Lebanese towns.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,800 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

At least 2,011 people have since been killed, over 9,500 injured, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi