Insane pictures show an Israeli missile just inches from blowing up a building in Beirut.
Amid its airstrikes on Lebanon, Israel launched a missile at the capital early this morning (November 15).
The strike levelled a building in the densely packed neighbourhood of Ghobeiry in Beirut’s southern suburbs. A large fireball and smoke can be seen billowing from the site.
It came 50 minutes after Israel issued an evacuation warning for the area, which includes residential blocks, businesses and a police centre.
Israel claims the building was a Hezbollah facility, saying on X (formerly Twitter): “To all residents in the southern suburb area, specifically in the buildings specified in the attached maps and the buildings adjacent to them in the Ghobeiry area.
“You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will act forcefully in the near future.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters.”
A series of images captured by an AFP photographer show a projectile slamming into the lower floors of the building, which erupted in a huge fireball, causing the structure to collapse in a gigantic cloud of smoke and dust.
In September of this year, Israel began an invasion and aerial bombing campaign in Lebanon following a steady exchange of fire over the border since October 2023.
Since then, Israel’s attacks have killed almost 3,500 people, injured over 14,000, and displaced an estimated 1.4 million Lebanese civilians. Just over 100 Israelis have been killed, with reports of 2,000 people having been injured and 90,000 displaced.
Israel has said it will not agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon until Hezbollah withdraws north of Lebanon’s Litani River, 5km away from the border with Israel.
Hezbollah has promised to keep up its attacks until Israel reaches a ceasefire agreement with the group’s ally Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s assault on Gaza was yesterday dubbed “consistent with the characteristics of genocide” by a UN special committee. Human Rights Watch said Israel’s repeated evacuation orders in Gaza amount to the “war crime of forcible transfer” and “ethnic cleansing”.
The health ministry in Gaza said today that at least 43,764 people have been killed and 103,490 wounded in more than 13 months of conflict.
