At least 12 killed, 66 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut

BEIRUT, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at more than 30 settlements in western Galilee and a key intelligence base in northern Israel on Friday, retaliating for an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs that killed at least 12 people and wounded 66 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The Israeli strike hit a building in the Jamous area of Dahieh, a Beirut suburb. Rescue teams were clearing rubble to find casualties, the ministry said.
Local TV footage showed extensive damage and chaos in the densely populated neighborhood. Lebanese media reported the strike targeted Ibrahim Akil, a Hezbollah Jihad Council member.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Akil was killed along with other senior commanders in the Lebanese group during the operation. However, Hezbollah has not disclosed any information about Akil’s situation.
Earlier Friday, the Israeli military said about 120 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, triggering alarms in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Safed, and Upper Galilee. Some were intercepted, with debris causing fires. No injuries in Israel have been reported.
Lebanese military sources reported Israeli airstrikes hit six locations in southern Lebanon, while artillery shelled 11 border towns earlier in the day.
Tension along the Israel-Lebanon border has escalated sharply following two explosions from communications devices in Lebanon earlier this week that killed 37 and injured 2,931.
Lebanon’s government denounced the explosions as a sovereignty violation and sought an urgent UN Security Council meeting. Hezbollah blamed Israel for targeting its units and vowed retaliation. ■