Israel strikes Christian area of Beirut for first time since its attacks began

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL

Israeli warplanes struck a residential apartment in the Mansourieh area northeast of Beirut on Tuesday, marking the first attack on the largely Christian area since the escalation began on March 2.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said a “hostile airstrike” targeted a ground-floor apartment in a residential building in Mansourieh.

Ambulances rushed to the scene, with no immediate reports of casualties or the reason for the strike.

An Anadolu correspondent said this was the first time Israel had targeted Mansourieh, located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israeli warplanes also struck a building in the Ghobeiry area in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the building and nearby structures, alleging the presence of a Hezbollah facility.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 21 people were killed and 70 injured in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said the total death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has risen to 1,268, including 125 children and 88 women, with 3,750 injured, among them 423 children and 473 women.

Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office said in its daily report Tuesday that the number of displaced people in shelters reached 136,201 across 669 centers nationwide.

The figure compares with 136,156 on Monday, indicating shelters received 45 new displaced people, bringing the total number displaced to more than 1 million.

The unit also reported 4,727 Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2.

Israel expanded its military operations in Lebanon on that date after launching, alongside the United States, strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, which have resulted in thousands of casualties, according to official figures.

Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, began targeting Israeli military positions on March 2 in response to continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place since late 2024.

Israel occupies parts of southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the previous war between October 2023 and November 2024.

*Writing by Khaled Badr in Istanbul