Live blog: Israel hits Beirut city centre, killing at least 6 people

Thursday, October 3, 2024

2331 GMT — Israel has bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people, after its invading military suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes against Hezbollah.

Witnesses reported hearing a massive blast and a security source said Israel targeted a building in central Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood close to parliament, the nearest Israeli strikes have come to Lebanon's seat of government.

At least six people were killed and seven wounded, Lebanese health officials said. A photo being circulated on Lebanese WhatsApp groups showed a heavily damaged building with its first floor on fire.

Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said. The southern suburbs came under more than a dozen Israeli strikes on Wednesday.

Lebanon's disaster management agency said earlier that 1,928 people have been killed in the country by Israel since October 7, 2023.

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0625 GMT — Japan sends military planes to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon

Japan has sent two military planes to Jordan and Greece in preparation for the possible evacuation of its nationals from Lebanon, according to local reports.

The Air Self-Defense Force dispatched two C-2 transport aircraft from Miho Air Base in Japan’s Tottori province, ready to respond if needed, Kyodo News reported, citing the Defense Ministry.

There are currently around 50 Japanese nationals in Lebanon.

0606 GMT — Yemen's Huthis claim drone attack on Tel Aviv

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv, although there was no direct confirmation from Israeli authorities.

In a statement, the Huthis said they "carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) area in occupied Palestine with a number of Jaffa drones".

"The operation achieved its goals successfully as the drones reached their targets without the enemy being able to confront or shoot them down."

0517 GMT — 5 killed, 8 injured in Israeli airstrike in Beirut

The Lebanese Health Ministry has reported that an Israeli air strike targeted an apartment in Beirut’s Bachoura area, resulting in the deaths of five people and leaving eight others injured.

0405 GMT — Israeli army forces 3 Palestinian families to evacuate their homes

The Israeli army forced three Palestinian families in two villages near the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank to evacuate their homes and turned them into military outposts.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces forcibly evacuated a family from their home in the village of Anin, west of Jenin.

The agency quoted the homeowner, Yasser Yassin, 61, as saying that the army stormed his house and forced him along with his wife, 56, and son, 30, to evacuate.

According to Wafa, the army forcibly evacuated the families of Abdul Salam Ahmad Zaid and his brother Mohammed from a two-story building in the village of Nazlat Sheikh Zaid, southwest of Jenin.

2220 GMT — US resident killed by Israel in Lebanon

A US resident from Dearborn, Michigan, has been killed in Lebanon, the American government said, with the man's friend and neighbours saying he was killed in an Israeli air strike.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad, and our hearts go out to his family and friends. His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon," a White House spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day, a State Department spokesperson, when asked about reports of an American's death in Lebanon, said: "It's our understanding that it was a legal permanent resident, not an American citizen (who got killed in Lebanon) but we obviously offer our sincerest condolences to the family."

0037 GMT — Spain expresses solidarity with Lebanon

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed solidarity with his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

"I just spoke with the Prime Minister of Lebanon @Najib_Mikati to express my solidarity and support in the difficult times his country is going through," Sanchez wrote on X, noting that Spain has increased its humanitarian aid to assist the Lebanese civilian population.

"It is essential that international law and international humanitarian law, as well as Lebanon's territorial integrity, be respected," he added.

Saying that consistency "must continue to guide our external actions," Sanchez reiterated the need to "stop this war."

"We demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon," he added.

0029 GMT — Dozens of Australian citizens flee Lebanon

Australia has organised dozens of airline seats for its citizens to leave Lebanon, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, as she urged the many thousands of Australians that remain in Lebanon to leave the country while they still can.

Australia has secured 580 seats on flights departing on Thursday and Saturday for citizens, permanent residents and their families who want to leave Lebanon, Wong told a press conference. Flights were also organised earlier in the week.

Some 1,700 Australians and their families have registered their desire to leave Lebanon with the government, she said.

Australia is home to a large Lebanese diaspora, and roughly 15,000 Australians normally live in Lebanon, according to the foreign ministry.

"Please take whatever option is available to you. Now is not the time for you to wait and see, now is the time to leave," Wong said.

2137 GMT — Hassan Nasrallah agreed to truce before Israel assassinated him

Former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel shortly before he was assassinated by Tel Aviv in an air strike in Beirut, Lebanon's foreign minister has said.

"He agreed. Yes, the Lebanese side agreed," Abdallah Bouhabib told CNN.

"We consulted with Hezbollah, (Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri consulted with Hezbollah, and we informed US and French representatives (about the decision)," he added.

"The US and France told us that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by (US President) Joe Biden and (French President) Emmanuel Macron."

2127 GMT — Israel kills 46 people, wounds 85 in Lebanon in 24 hours

The Lebanese Health Ministry has said that 46 people were killed and 85 others wounded by "enemy Israeli strikes" across the country over the past 24 hours.

Lebanon's disaster management agency said earlier that 1,928 people have been killed since October 8, 2023.

2039 GMT — Hospitals in Lebanon 'overwhelmed' with influx of wounded

Hospitals in Lebanon are "overwhelmed" with the influx of wounded patients amid the ongoing aggression by Israel, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

"The death toll in #Lebanon is rising, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of injured patients. The health system has been weakened by successive crises and is struggling to cope with the immense needs," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

Tedros said that he met with Arab League ambassadors in Geneva to discuss the health situation in Lebanon and the region, adding that they agreed patients, health workers and civilians, including refugees, "must be protected and offered the health care they need."


The WHO has been working closely with the Lebanese Health Ministry to ensure hospitals have enough medical supplies and health workers are trained for mass casualty events, he added.


"But more help is needed, and we are scaling up our response. However, what the people of Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and throughout the Middle East need is peace," the WHO secretary general said.

2029 GMT — Qatar urges halting of Israeli aggression in Gaza, Lebanon

Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has urged the international community to halt Israeli aggression against Lebanon and besieged Gaza.

His remarks were made during a news conference in Doha alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which was broadcast by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news outlet.

The emir said his meeting with Pezeshkian was "part of the ongoing dialogue between the two countries, during which areas of cooperation, particularly in trade and economics, were discussed."

"We also addressed the critical situation in our region, marked by Israeli aggression against Gaza, the West Bank, and its continued attacks on Lebanon," he added.

He warned that "the (Israeli) aggression is pushing the region to the edge of the abyss and increasing the risk of escalating violence" and urged "the international community to pressure Israel to stop its brutal attacks on Gaza and Lebanon."

For our live updates from Wednesday, October 2, 2024, click here.