Israeli forces launched strikes Friday on Beirut’s southern suburbs and areas in southern Lebanon identified by Israel Defense Forces as Hezbollah strongholds.
Video provided by news organizations showed strikes in Baabda, Choueifat, Hadath and Dahiyeh.
In a post on its X social media account, the IDF said its air force completed a series of attacks on headquarters used by Hezbollah in the Dahiyeh area in Beirut. The post said the attacks were to damage the ability of Hezbollah to strike Israel, including production sites and warehouses of weapons in Dahiyeh.
The IDF also said from its X account that its jets earlier Friday attacked Hezbollah targets in the southern port city of Tyre. It said the targets included Hezbollah headquarters, intelligence infrastructures, weapons warehouses, an observation post and military buildings.
“Many military assets that were attacked are associated with Hezbollah's 'Aziz' unit, which is responsible for shooting from the area of southwestern Lebanon towards the territory of the State of Israel and other terrorist activities in the area,” the post said.
U.N. peacekeepers injured
Separately, the U.N. mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said in a statement Friday four Italian peacekeepers were injured when two rockets struck the mission’s headquarters in Shama, just south of Tyre. The statement said the injuries were not life threatening and the peacekeepers were receiving treatment at the base hospital.
UNIFIL said the rockets damaged a bunker and logistics area used by the international military police and caused significant damage to nearby infrastructure. They said the rockets were likely launched by Hezbollah or affiliated groups.
The UNIFIL statement said this was the third attack on this UNIFIL base in Shama in a week and came amid heavy shelling and ground skirmishes in the Shama and Naqoura areas in recent days, heightening tensions in the region.
UNIFIL “strongly urges combating parties to avoid fighting next to its positions.” It reiterated that any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a serious violation of international law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
'Deadliest year' for aid workers
Also Friday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this year has been “the deadliest year on record for humanitarian personnel” worldwide, driven by the conflict in Gaza, it said in a statement.
OCHA said the 281 aid workers killed so far this year globally surpasses the previous high of 280, with 178 of those deaths occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza.
Since the October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel that sparked the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, 333 humanitarian personnel have been killed. The U.N. office said many were killed in the line of duty while providing humanitarian assistance. Most were staff members of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Geneva-based OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said the front-line workers being killed are “doing the best humanity has to offer,” and he called their deaths “outrageous.”
“Regardless of your faith or what religion you embrace, these people are doing God's work, and they're being killed in response,” he said.
Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. About 1,200 Israelis were killed, and 250 were taken hostage. About 100 of the hostages have yet to be released, although a third of them are believed to be dead.
Following the attack, Israel began a campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza that has killed at least 44,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Since the fighting with Hezbollah began, more than 3,500 people in Lebanon have been killed, according to authorities. Most of the fatalities have occurred since late September.
The United States, the United Kingdom and other Western countries designate Hamas and Hezbollah as terror groups.
VOA United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
