4 killed as Israel strikes apartment in central Beirut, first hit outside Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh

BEIRUT: Four people have been killed in an Israeli strike targeting an apartment in Beirut’s Kola district on Sunday, witnesses said, in the first such attack in central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict.

There have been conflicting reports on who the intended targets were, with some news outlets claiming they were officials of The Islamic Party or Islamic Group — also known as Jamaa Islamiya — and others claiming they were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Sources close to Arab News identified those killed in the strike as senior Jamaa Islamiya members Zakariya Bazzi and Ali Rahal and two others.

Agence France Presse also quoted its own source, and The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed official with Lebanese Civil Defense, said the targets were Jamaa Islamiya members.

Reuters, also quoting unnamed sources, said the PFLP had admitted that three of its leaders were killed the strike.

Formed in 1960, Jamaa Islamiya, like Hamas, traces its origins to the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. It has been the target of several Israeli strikes since the escalation began on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The PFLP said the three leaders were killed in a strike that targeted Beirut’s Kola district.

The PFLP,  a Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization, is the second-biggest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization, next to Fatah.

The strike marks the first time Israel has carried out attacks within Beirut’s city walls since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel last year.

Television footage showed the partially flattened floor of the building targeted by the strike, in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Kola, near the road linking the capital to Beirut airport.

The strike happened  hours after Israel hit targets across Lebanon and killed at least 105 people as Hezbollah sustained heavy blows to its command structure, including the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

In the past week, Israel has frequently targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the militant group Hezbollah has a strong presence — including a major strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah — but had not hit locations near the city center.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.

Earlier, Hezbollah confirmed that Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of the militant group’s Central Council, was killed Saturday, making him the seventh senior Hezbollah leader slain in Israeli strikes in a little over a week. They include founding members who had evaded death or detention for decades.

Hezbollah also confirmed that Ali Karaki, another senior commander, died in an airstrike Friday strike that killed Nasrallah. Israel says at least 20 other Hezbollah militants were killed, including one in charge of Nasrallah’s security detail.

The Lebanese health ministry documented at least 105 people killed around the country in airstrikes Sunday. Two strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Beirut, killed at least 32 people, the Lebanese health ministry said. Separately, Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel killed 21 people and injured at least 47. There were other strikes.

The Israeli military previously said it also carried out another targeted strike on Beirut, but did not immediately provide details.

Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa and in the south, besides strikes on Beirut. The strikes have targeted buildings where civilians were living and the death toll was expected to rise.

In a video of a strike in Sidon, verified by The Associated Press, a building swayed before collapsing as neighbors filmed. One TV station called on viewers to pray for a family caught under the rubble, posting their pictures, as rescuers failed to reach them. The Lebanese health ministry reported at least 14 medics were killed over two days in the south.

Meanwhile, wreckage from the strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah was still smoldering. AP journalists saw smoke over the rubble as people flocked to the site, some to check on what was left of their homes and others to pay respects, pray or simply to see the destruction.

In response to the dramatic escalation in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah significantly increased its attacks in the past week, from several dozen to several hundred daily, the Israeli military said. The attacks injured several people and caused damage, but most of the rockets and drones were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems or fell in open areas.

The army says its strikes have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities and the number of launches would be much higher if Hezbollah had not been hit.