Death toll in Israeli strike on Beirut rises to 31
The death toll from the September 20 IDF strike on Beirut has risen to 31 people. This was announced by Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abyad during a press conference on September 21, as quoted by Al-Jazeera TV channel .
He pointed out that among the dead three children and seven women. The children were four, six and 10 years old.
According to Abyad, 68 people were injured and hospitalized in 12 hospitals. Fifty-three of the wounded have now been discharged, while two of those remaining under doctors' care are in critical condition.
Israel's strike on the Lebanese capital was targeted - the IDF sought to eliminate Hezbollah Shiite commander Ibrahim Aqil, who is a member of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah's top military body, the Jihad Council. The movement confirmed Akil's death. According to the Jewish state's army, other senior Hezbollah leaders who were part of the Radwan force, a special unit within the Shiite group's ranks, were killed along with him. Two residential buildings collapsed in the city after the strike.
The IDF said on Sept. 19 that its military carried out a series of attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, hitting 100 launchers and facilities of the group. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said before that the Jewish state was shifting forces to the northern front because of the start of a new phase of the war.
In addition, on September 17, thousands of people were seriously injured by pager blasts in the Lebanese capital and in the south of the country. The following day, various wireless devices, such as radios, exploded on motorcycles and in cars. In just two days, more than 4,000 people were injured and more than 30 were killed. One of the explosions killed the son of Lebanese parliament member Ali Ammar. The Lebanese leadership and representatives of Hezbollah blamed Israel for the incident.
The situation in the Middle East escalated in the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, as well as invaded the border areas in the south of the country and seized hostages. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.
