Israeli airstrike kills 9 in central Beirut

An Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood has killed at least nine people and injured 14 others overnight, adding to a toll of more than 1,300 in a weekslong bombing campaign, Lebanese health officials said.

It was the second and deadliest airstrike inside the capital since Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah began.

The late-night strike hit the office of the Islamic Health Authority, a health-services institution run by Hezbollah, and paramedics were among the casualties, an IHA spokesperson said.

The Israel Defense Forces said it executed a “precise strike” in Beirut.

Israeli forces continued their incursion into southern Lebanon, and on Wednesday engaged in what appeared to be their first direct ground confrontations.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said he opposes an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites as Israel prepares to retaliate swiftly for Iran’s missile barrage.

Though the timeline could be complicated by Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. Tehran has threatened a more severe response should Israel strike back.

An “apocalyptic” situation is unfolding across Lebanon, health care workers have warned, with some 1.2 million people displaced and many sleeping on the streets of Beirut. One U.S. permanent resident is among the dead, and about 100 U.S. citizens and their families left last night on an evacuation flight as other countries announced their own plans.

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