BEIRUT: An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday destroyed the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a major town in southern Lebanon, killing 16 people, including the mayor. This marked the largest attack on an official Lebanese state building since Israel began its air campaign.
Lebanese officials condemned the strike, which also injured over 50 people, asserting that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is now targeting the Lebanese state itself. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated, “The Israelis intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council, which was discussing services and relief for those displaced by the Israeli offensive.”
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that an Israeli tank fired at their watchtower near Kfar Kela, damaging the tower and destroying two cameras. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the report.
When asked about the strike on Nabatieh, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller avoided commenting on specific strikes but noted that Hezbollah operates from civilian areas. Miller stated that the US supports limited strikes aimed at Hezbollah’s infrastructure, not civilians or civilian homes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli warplanes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in nearly a week, with two blasts reported. This was the first attack on Beirut since October 10, when airstrikes killed 22 people and leveled buildings in a densely populated area. Over the past year, Israeli operations in Lebanon have claimed the lives of at least 2,350 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry, displacing over 1.2 million.
In the southern village of Qana, rescuers searched for survivors after Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed three and injured 54, the Lebanese ministry reported.