Israel hits Dahiyeh suburb in Beirut with airstrikes causing major damage

Israel's air force pounded Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh overnight, destroying dozens of buildings in several neighborhoods, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Friday.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Recently, Israel has intensified its airstrikes on the northeastern city of Baalbek and nearby villages, as well as different parts of southern Lebanon. International mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict.

Lebanon's Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 13,000 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets almost daily into Israel, drawing retaliation.

The death toll from more than a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has passed 43,000, Palestinian officials reported this week, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people mostly civilians and abducting 250 others.

Here's the latest:  An Israeli airstrike on the edge of Qamatiyeh in Lebanon kills 3 and wounds 5  BERIUT  Lebanon's Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike on a mountain town overlooking Beirut has killed three people and wounded five.

The ministry gave no further details about the early Friday airstrike on the edge of Qamatiyeh, southeast of Beirut.

An Associated Press journalist who visited the scene said the strike was closer to the nearby village of Ein al-Rummaneh, adding that it caused minor damage to an apartment on the first floor of a building.

On Oct. 6, an Israeli strike in Qamatiyeh killed six people, including three children, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Thailand tells Israel not to allow workers to enter closed military zones after 4 are killed in northern Israel  BANGKOK   The employer of the Thai workers killed and injured in northern Israel had received permission from the Israeli military to bring the workers to the area for about 1-2 hours, said Nikorndej Balankura, spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding Friday that the employer was also killed.

The worker who was injured was in serious condition and was being treated at a hospital in Haifa, he said, and the Thai embassy was already in touch with the families of the deceased.

Projectiles fired Thursday from Lebanon into northern Israel killed seven people, including four Thai workers, in the deadliest such attack since Israeli troops invaded Lebanon in early October. Israel's northernmost town, Metula is surrounded by Lebanon on three sides and has sustained heavy damage from rockets. The town's residents evacuated in October 2023, and only security officials and agricultural workers remain there.

Nikorndej said Thailand has called on Israel to refrain from granting permissions for Thai workers to enter closed military zones from now on, to prevent such losses from happening again.

Thailand reiterates its call on all conflicting parties to immediately cease any retaliatory actions to prevent the situation from prolonging and aggravating, and to restore regional peace and stability in the Middle East region, he said.

Israel pounds Beirut suburb overnight with airstrikesBEIRUT Israel's air force resumed airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburb, destroying buildings in several neighborhoods, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Friday. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The early Friday airstrikes on Dahiyeh after a four-day lull during which no airstrikes were reported in the suburb destroyed dozens of buildings and caused fires in the area, the agency said.

In recent days, Israel has intensified its airstrikes on the northeastern city of Baalbek and nearby villages, as well as different parts of southern Lebanon.