BEIRUT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli aircraft resumed airstrikes on the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh on Saturday afternoon, targeting the neighborhoods of Mrayjeh and Burj al-Barajneh, local news agency Al-Markazia reported.

An Israeli drone also struck a rescue team attempting to evacuate casualties in Mrayjeh, according to the report.

Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed said civil defense and rescue teams were trying to access Mrayjeh, where Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, a senior Shia cleric and potential successor to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. Israeli drones reportedly hindered their efforts.

Hezbollah has lost contact with Safieddine since Friday's strike on Dahieh, Al Jazeera reported. The airstrikes come one week after Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli attack that hit Hezbollah's headquarters.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said Saturday that 25 people had been killed and 127 injured in Israeli airstrikes over the past 24 hours. Since the start of the conflict, the ministry said 2,036 people have died and 9,662 have been wounded.

The ministry, in coordination with the World Health Organization, also reported the closure of 96 primary healthcare centers and clinics as of October 4. It added that 77 health workers had been killed and 74 others injured.

Israeli forces have been carrying out intensive airstrikes on Lebanon since September 23, marking a significant escalation in hostilities with Hezbollah. The two sides have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border since last year, with growing concerns of a wider conflict as the war between Hamas and Israel intensifies in Gaza. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)