Israel strikes central Beirut as war expands

March 19 ------ Israeli warplanes hit central Beirut in the early hours, destroying apartment buildings in some of the most intense airstrikes on the center of the Lebanese capital for decades, an expansion of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

A day after killing Iran’s powerful security chief Ali Larijani in the highest-level assassination since the supreme leader died on the war’s first day, Israel said it had killed another top official, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. Iran confirmed the death of Larijani and retaliated by firing missiles with multiple warheads into Israel that Israeli authorities said killed two people near Tel Aviv.

Tehran said the killing of officials would not hinder its operations. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the United States and Israel failed to understand that the Islamic Republic was a robust political system that did not depend on any single individual.

Nearly three weeks into the conflict, there are scant signs of de-escalation. An unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies has raised the political stakes for US President Donald Trump. Diesel prices in the United States rose above $5 a gallon on Wednesday for the first time since the 2022 inflation surge that eroded support for his predecessor Joe Biden. Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon and a ground assault in the south in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has fired across the border in solidarity with Tehran.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has rejected proposals conveyed to Tehran by intermediary countries to de-escalate the conflict, saying that the United States and Israel must first be “brought to their knees,” according to a senior Iranian official who asked not to be identified.

Worst strikes on central Beirut for decades

In central Beirut’s Bachoura district, Israel warned residents to leave a building it said was used by Hezbollah, which it then completely flattened. Eyewitness video, verified by Reuters, showed the structure crumbling into dust as it was struck at dawn. Firefighters later clambered over a vast pile of smoking rubble.

Abu Khalil, who lives in the area, said he had helped people flee nearby homes early that morning after the Israeli warning. “It’s just an operation to hurt, to terrify people, to terrify children,” he told Reuters, insisting there were no military targets nearby.

No similar warnings were given for strikes that hit apartment buildings in two other central districts, killing at least 10 people, according to Lebanese authorities. Smoke poured from the balcony of one building as residents swept debris from the street, surrounded by wrecked cars. While Israel has been striking Hezbollah‑controlled southern suburbs of Beirut for days, the latest attacks were among the worst to hit central parts of the capital in decades.

Source: rappler.com