NEWS
NEWS

Israeli strike kills at least 6 in Beirut as foreign nationals evacuate

Updated

At least six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut overnight, Lebanon's Health Ministry said, as governments around the world scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the country

A woman reacts in front abuilding hit by Israeli airstrike, in central Beirut.
A woman reacts in front abuilding hit by Israeli airstrike, in central Beirut.AP

Israel was pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah while conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. The Israeli military said eight soldiers have died in the conflict in southern Lebanon.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict in Middle East.

Iran's ambassador to the U.N. said his country launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a deterrent to further Israeli violence, while his Israeli counterpart called the barrage an "unprecedented act of aggression."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate, and an Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel did so. U.S. President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an Israeli attack targeting Iran's nuclear program.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.