JERUSALEM (AP) — The first apparent Israeli airstrike on central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict leveled an apartment building early Monday. It came after Israel hit targets across Lebanon and killed dozens of people, as Hezbollah sustained heavy blows to its command structure, including the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The airstrike hit a multistory residential building, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. Videos showed ambulances and a crowd gathered near the building in a mainly Sunni district with a busy thoroughfare lined with shops. A Palestinian leftist faction in Lebanon said three of its members were killed in the airstrike. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a statement early Monday that its military and security commanders in Lebanon, and a third member, were killed in the attack. The group has not played a significant role in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. An official with Lebanon’s Civil Defense had earlier said that a member of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya was killed in the strike and that 16 other people were wounded, but the Sunni militant group, which fights alongside Hezbollah, has not confirmed the death of any of its members.
Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen
Hezbollah on Sunday confirmed the death of high-ranking official Nabil Kaouk in an Israeli airstrike, a day after the Lebanese militant group acknowledged the killings of multiple commanders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the militants’ recent attacks, and is continuing to carry out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the number of people displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled and now stands at more than 211,000, according to the United Nations. Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily strikes since the Israel-Hamas war started after the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group stormed into Israel almost a year ago on Oct. 7, sparking fears of regional war.