By Miracle Ogunde
A massive Isreali airstrike targeting a senior Hezbollah figure, on Saturday has claimed no fewer than 20 lives, with more than 60 injured.
According to reports, the strike hit an eight-storey residential building in the crowded Basta district, leaving rescue teams racing to retrieve bodies from the rubble.
Meanwhile, Lebanon residents described the attack as “horrific,” accusing Israel of indiscriminate attacks.
Speaking to newsmen, a survivor of the strike, Ali Nassar, aged 55, questioned the necessity of such measures.
He said, :“Even if one person is hiding here… Should you destroy buildings where people are sleeping inside? Is it necessary to kill all the people for one person? Or are we not humans?” he asked.
According to an Israeli media report, the attack was aimed at Mohammed Haydar, a senior Hezbollah official. However, Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri denied that any of the group’s leaders were in the building, and Haydar’s fate remains unclear.
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented on the strike, which Lebanese media said involved a “bunker buster” bomb—previously used to target Hezbollah leadership.
The assault was described as one of several airstrikes across Lebanon on Saturday.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, Southern Beirut’s Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold, was also hit, while strikes in Baalbek killed at least 15 people, including four children.
This is coming amid intensified Israeli military action against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that Israel accuses of escalating hostilities along the border.
The conflict has heightened calls for a ceasefire, with international diplomats, including U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, attempting to broker a deal.
The proposed ceasefire includes a 60-day halt to hostilities, withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of additional Lebanese troops.
Lebanon has borne the brunt of the violence, with over 3,670 killed and more than a million displaced since October 2023, Lebanese authorities say.
In Israel, the conflict has also displaced thousands in the north, as Hezbollah’s rocket attacks continue despite intensified Israeli operations
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