Lebanon: At least 29 killed and 66 injured in Israeli air strike on central Beirut as ceasefire agreement reached

On Saturday 23rd November at around 4am, a series of Israeli air strikes killed at least 29 people and injured 66 others in the central and densely populated Beirut neighbourhood of Basta al Fawqa.

Around 4 air strikes struck an 8-storey building in the early hours of the morning, whilst many would be sleeping. The strikes devastated the building and destroyed numerous other buildings in the vicinity.

Lebanon’s National News Agency stated that a bunker-buster bomb was used in the attacks, similar to the weapon used in the air strike which killed the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September of this year.

Naharnet published that the Israeli Army has stated they were targeting a senior Hezbollah official, but a lawmaker from the group has denied any of its officials were present in the area. Despite this, there were significant civilian casualties and widespread destruction in the Lebanese capital, as Israel continues to intensify attacks in the country.

Since 7 October 2023, AOAV has recorded 10,078 casualties as a result of explosive violence in Lebanon, 94% (9,438) of which were reported as civilians (7,191 injured and 2,247 killed).

All recorded casualties were caused by state actors’ use of explosive weapons, specifically Israel.

94% of these casualties have occurred since September this year, when Israel targeted Hezbollah pagers and radio devices and subsequently launched its ground invasion in southern Lebanon on 1st October.

Here is a map of Lebanon and the regions most impacted by explosive violence since 7 October 2023

Between January 2024 and November so far, casualties have increased by 9,990% as the Israeli Army continues to launch air strikes and artillery shelling across the country.

97% (9,132) of casualties recorded have occurred in populated areas, specifically, 80% (7,342) occurred across urban residential areas, where civilians are likely to be harmed.

Air-launched weapons accounted for 63% (5,946) of casualties recorded since 7 October 2023.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) accounted for 36% (3,373) of casualties recorded since October 2023, largely due to the attacks which caused thousands of pagers and walkie talkies to explode across both Lebanon and Syria on 18 and 19 September.

Most recently, yesterday afternoon, an Israeli air strike on an urban residential neighbourhood in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed at least 3 people and injured 26 others, as well as causing widespread destruction to the area. This is one of numerous air strikes on Beirut in the past 24 hours, as Israel intensified its bombardment on the city only hours before the 60-day ceasefire agreement was implemented at 4am local time (2:00 GMT) on Wednesday 27th November.

Anadolu Agency reported that Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had approved the continuation of attacks in Lebanon “until the last moment before a cease-fire”. Overall, AOAV has recorded 107 civilian casualties as a result of Israeli air strikes in Lebanon in the previous 24 hours, including over 20 strikes in Beirut alone. The bombardment resulted in 70 people killed or injured in Beirut, 21 in Nabatieh, 10 in the Southern region, and six in Baalbek-Hermel.

Following the ceasefire coming into effect, Lebanese news agency Al Manar reported images of streams of cars with displaced Lebanese citizens returning to their homes in towns and villages in the southern regions.

Whilst the ceasefire is widely welcomed, there remains international concern regarding the 1.2 million displaced people who are returning to potentially destroyed or damaged homes. The International Rescue Committee reported that as many as 100,000 homes have either been partially or entirely destroyed across the country’s south, leaving thousands of people with no safe place to return to.