At least four people were killed early on Sunday when an Israeli strike struck an apartment in the Ramada hotel complex in central Beirut, authorities said. Israel said it targeted senior commanders of Iran's Quds Force who it accused of operating in the Lebanese capital, though it did not identify them by name.
Israeli military officials stated that "The commanders of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran." The military characterised the operation as aimed at key Quds Force figures, repeating its contention that such commanders had been facilitating attacks against Israeli territory.
The strike represents the first Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed last week, a development that has prompted anxieties the scope of Israeli air operations could grow beyond the locations where Hezbollah has traditionally been active.
Lebanon has been drawn deeper into the regional confrontation after the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel on Monday. Israel responded with heavy strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon and in areas close to Beirut prior to Sunday's attack.
Impact on the Raouche neighbourhood
The attack hit the Raouche district, a seafront area that is typically a draw for visitors but has in recent days sheltered people displaced by strikes in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Some of those displaced had been staying at the Ramada hotel.
The strike appears to have struck a corner suite on the fourth floor of the Ramada building. Observers described windows of the suite as shattered and sections of the facade blackened. The Lebanese health ministry reported that ten people were injured in the attack on the Raouche area, and that those wounded included children.
One displaced resident, Khalil Abou Mohammad, had been staying in a building across the street after fleeing earlier strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs. He said his three children were wounded by the force of the strike and were receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, and that they would require surgery. He showed bloodstained bed covers as evidence of the injuries and described being awakened by the strike at 3:30 a.m. while they were asleep.
Context and recent operations
In related operations earlier in the week, Israel said it had killed the commander of Iran's Quds Force in Lebanon, Daoud Ali Zadeh, in a strike in Tehran. Israel also said a strike on Beirut's suburbs had killed a man it identified as Reza Khuza'i, whom it described as head of Hezbollah's weapons build-up and chief of staff of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps.
Israeli authorities have warned representatives of Iran in Lebanon to leave the country immediately or risk being targeted. Earlier in the week Israel struck an area near the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, and in the days since dozens of Iranian nationals have left the country.
The Lebanese government has issued orders to arrest and deport any members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon, although it remained unclear whether those orders had been carried out. Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati has denied that Iranian forces are present on the ground in Lebanon.
The strike on the Ramada building and the surrounding series of military actions underscore an escalation that has pulled Lebanon into a widening confrontation involving Israel, Hezbollah and Iran. Civilian casualties and damage in Beirut have raised concerns about the conflict's potential to affect broader areas of the capital and to increase humanitarian displacement.