'We thought the war had started': Beirut residents react to Israeli strike

From behind a metal fence set up by security forces in southern Beirut, local residents watched and waited as emergency personnel dug through debris, and the body count rose.

The fate of their friends and neighbours remained unclear, a day after an Israeli strike tore into Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs on Friday.

Lebanese authorities reported civilian victims in the attack Israel said targeted Hezbollah commanders.

The claws of two tracked excavators dug through the mangled concrete and metal of a flattened building.

Buildings torn apart

Some rescuers, walking delicately over the dusty rubble, used only their hands as firefighters sprayed water.

The balconies and lower floors of one building were torn apart.

Others nearby were partially damaged, some with shattered windows. Broken concrete fell among parked cars, leaving them dented and shattered.

"I was in my house when I heard an explosion. At first I thought it was the sound of a sonic boom" of Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier, said one resident, declining to provide his name.

"But then I saw smoke and fire and knew it was an Israeli bombardment," he said.

Another woman, also requesting anonymity due to the security situation, said she was waiting to know the fate of her friends and neighbours after the "brutal attack".

She said she wasn't in the area during Friday's raid but her friends and neighbours were.

War fears

Ali al Harakeh, an official from the Haret Hreik municipality where the strike hit, said that according to initial information, "a building was completely destroyed, and another saw its two lower floors damaged".

"There are other damaged buildings nearby, and there is a third building that has been around 30 percent damaged," he said.

Zeinab, 35, a housewife who preferred to be identified only by her first name, said she was at home and heard a noise.

"We thought the war had started," she said.

"Children started crying. We didn't know what to do. Should we stay or flee?" said the resident of the district filled with apartment buildings and shops.

"We started packing some clothes, but after that we calmed down a little and we also settled the children down," she added.

Lebanese authorities said Friday's strike killed at least 37 people including seven women, three children and three Syrians, while Israel said the strike killed the head of Hezbollah's Radwan Force and several other commanders.