Beirut: An Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday as Israel's army said it was targeting Hezbollah, with the raid sending a large plume of smoke billowing across the skyline.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported the strike on the Hezbollah stronghold, which has been largely emptied of residents following repeated Israeli attacks and evacuation warnings.
Israel has launched strikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south since March 2, when Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its backer Iran.
Israel's army said it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut" on Monday.
Shortly before the warning, an AFP journalist in the southern suburbs saw just a few shops open, including a bakery, a pharmacy and a barbershop, as well as a gas station belonging to the Al Amana fuel company destroyed in a previous raid.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that in recent days, it had struck two Al Amana petrol stations "which were controlled by Hezbollah and served as significant financial infrastructure" supporting the group's activities.
Fresh portraits mourning Iran's former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli attack on February 28 that triggered the Middle East conflict, were visible along main roads in the southern suburbs.
The NNA also reported deadly strikes in the country's south and east on Monday.
A day earlier, Israel repeatedly struck the southern suburbs and also hit a site in Beirut's Jnah neighbourhood near the country's largest public medical facility.
The health ministry said that strike killed five people, including a 15-year old girl and two Sudanese nationals.
Another strike on the town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, killed three people including two women, authorities said.
Among the dead were Pierre Mouawad, a local official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party strongly opposed to Hezbollah and his wife.
Residents of the building told local media that the strike hit the apartment above Mouawad's.
Israel's military said on Monday that it had struck a "terrorist target" east of Beirut.
"Reports of casualties among Lebanese civilians not involved in the fighting are being examined. All details of the incident are under review," it said. — AFP
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