The overnight strike in the Cola neighborhood in Beirut appeared to have been the first known Israeli strike in the city center since 2006. Israel has struck the densely populated Dahiya area to the south many times recently, with most of those strikes coming after a massive bombing attack on Friday that killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah there.
Strike in Beirut’s Cola neighborhood
The strike appeared to be Israel’s first in central Beirut since 2006.
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Israel struck the Dahiya on Jan. 2 for the first time since the war in Gaza began last October, targeting a Hamas official. It struck one other time before September, killing the senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on July 30.
Along with Mr. Shukr, Israel killed two other members of Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, in the area: Ibrahim Aqeel and Ali Karaki, who was killed alongside Nasrallah.
The strike on Mr. Aqeel killed at least 45 people, according to Lebanese authorities, including three children.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
