'They want to cause pain': Lebanese gather at site of Israeli strike in central Beirut

Описание: A bulldozer cleared rubble in the Bachoura neighbourhood in central Beirut on Wednesday, after an Israeli strike flattened a building it said was used by Hezbollah.

Israeli warplanes hit central Beirut in the early hours of Wednesday, destroying apartment buildings in some of the most intense air strikes on the centre of the Lebanese capital for decades, an expansion of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

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 said, insisting there were no military targets nearby.

No similar warnings were given for strikes that hit apartment buildings in two other central districts, killing 12 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.





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