Israel attacks Hezbollah’s main bastion in Lebanon

BEIRUT – Israel carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah’s main bastion in southern Beirut on November 7, with one strike hitting an area near Lebanon’s only international airport.

The pre-dawn attacks came after Hezbollah claimed a slew of attacks on Israel, including a rocket attack targeting a military base near Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

Also on November 6, the Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks on the Bekaa Valley and in the densely populated ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, forty people were killed.

Hezbollah and Israel have been at war since late September, when Israel expanded its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border.

Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks on Israel in 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas. the October 7, 2023 attack.

The strike near Beirut airport caused heavy damage to a heating factory warehouse, an AFP photographer reported.

Transport Minister Ali Hamie said the airport continued to operate normally and planes took off and landed without any problems.

The raid caused minor damage to some of the airport’s buildings, including those of national carrier Middle East Airlines.

The terminal building was secure, an airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Mr Abu Elie, a taxi driver, was at the airport when the strikes took place.

“The entire parking garage shook. People were carrying their suitcases on their shoulders and running,” he said. “When I reached the street there was so much smoke I had to turn on the headlights.”

‘Warm and cordial’

While some in Lebanon had hoped that the November 5 US presidential election would provide a reprieve, Hezbollah’s leader said in a speech on November 6 that the vote would not affect the future of the conflict.

He also warned that Hezbollah has tens of thousands of trained militants ready to fight, and that nowhere in Israel is “off limits” for attacks.

Israel’s airport authority said on November 6 that operations at the main airport near commercial center Tel Aviv were not affected, after Hezbollah claimed it had fired rockets at a nearby military base.