Four people including a child were killed and 24 others were wounded in an Israeli strike near Beirut’s biggest public hospital last night, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has displaced more than 1.2million people multiple times, according to the country’s authorities.
The IDF says its aim is to drive Hezbollah terrorists from the border region so tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they were forced to flee over the past year due to cross-border fire.
On Monday, a fresh round of strikes near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital killed three adults and a child. The ministry said the strike hit the entrance to the hospital, ‘which is still operating and receives a large number of patients’.
It also denied claims by the Israeli army that Hezbollah had stored hundreds of millions of dollars under the Sahel hospital in south Beirut.
In a televised statement, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Hezbollah’s former leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whom Israel killed last month, had built a bunker there which was designed for lengthy stays.
‘There are hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold inside the bunker right now. I’m calling on the Lebanese government, Lebanese authorities, and the international organizations – don’t allow Hezbollah to use the money for terror and to attack Israel,’ Hagari said.
Smoke rises from areas targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs late on October 21
People flee after the Israeli army warned it was targeting the Ouzai area and southern suburb of Beirut
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on the town of Sejoud, southern Lebanon
‘The Israeli Air Force is monitoring the compound, as you can see. However, we will not strike the hospital itself.’
Fadi Alameh, a Lebanese lawmaker with the Shi’ite Amal Movement party and the director of the hospital in question, Al-Sahel, told Reuters that Israel was making false and slanderous claims and called on the Lebanese Army to visit and show it only had operating rooms, patients and a morgue.
It comes as Israel targets Hezbollah’s banking arm, with the IDF last night claiming that a strike had killed the head of Hezbollah’s money transfers.
This came after overnight attacks on Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association (AQAH) which it says holds the Iranian-proxy’s money.
Explosions rocked Hezbollah-controlled areas in Beirut and in southern and eastern Lebanon where they operate late on Sunday.
While AQAH holds the coffers for the group it also offers financial services to civilians in these parts of the country. Israel and the US insist the civilian side of the business is simply a cover for Hezbollah to fund its activities.
The attacks marked an expansion of the IDF’s campaign against Hezbollah as it went beyond military infrastructure for the first time.
It took place just hours before US President Joe Biden’s special envoy to the Middle East touched down in Beirut to explore efforts to end the war.
Some 1,800 people have died in Lebanon in the past five weeks with 2,400 killed since October 7 last year, according to the country’s health ministry.
The strikes came as Israel mourned the loss of its most senior commander in the war to date.
Colonel Ehsan Daxa, the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, was killed by an explosive device on Sunday in Jabalia, once a refugee camp in northern Gaza.
He had left his tank and walked to an observation post where the explosive device was planted in a Hamas ambush.
A man throws a stone from behind a burning rubbish container as displaced people who fled Israeli bombardment in Beirut’s southern suburbs clash with Lebanese security forces attempting to evict them from a building they were occupying illegally
A boy stands on a rubbish container as displaced people who fled Israeli bombardment in Beirut’s southern suburbs clash with Lebanese security forces
Members of an emergency crew gather at a site near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), following Israeli airstrikes in the Jnah District of Beiru
Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut
The killing is another indication that while Hamas has been greatly diminished it is still not defeated in Gaza.
It adds to the pressure of war fatigue in Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to push for ‘total victory’.
Col Daxa is the second colonel to be killed in fighting in Gaza, while three other colonels were killed in the Hamas terror attack on Oct 7. He is survived by a wife and three children.
The strikes on Lebanon comes as a saga involving the leak of US documents continues to rumble on.
The pair of documents allegedly leaked from a US intelligence agency appear to suggest Israel is preparing a major retaliatory strike on Iran – though there are ‘no indications’ Netanyahu is planning a nuclear attack.
The documents, purportedly issued by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and leaked on the Telegram messaging app last week, describe US interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.
‘Israel Defence Forces (IDF) continued key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity on 16 October almost certainly for a strike on Iran,’ the documents read, warning the attack could occur without warning at a scale that could not be ‘definitively predicted’.
‘The Israeli Air Force (IAF) continued long-range air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) handling on 16 October. The IAF has handled at least 16 Golden Horizon ALBMs and at least 40 1502 Rocks since October 8,’ they said, adding the Israeli Air Force had also conducted aerial refuelling exercises.
ROCKS refers to an air-to-ground missile manufactured by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems corporation. The ‘Golden Horizon’ missile has not been previously identified.
Fears that Israel could resort to using nuclear weapons appear unfounded, the report said, stating that although Israel had ‘likely dispersed’ its Jericho II nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, the move is ‘almost certainly defensive and we have not observed indications that Israel intends to use a nuclear weapon’.
Still, Tehran is fearful that a conventional strike could cripple its own nuclear facilities, with Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei declaring this morning his nation had informed the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, about threats to nuclear sites.
Leaked documents appear to show Israel’s Air Force preparing for a strike on Iran
An F-15I fighter jet of the IAF’s 69th Squadron is seen at Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel carrying a slew of air-to-ground munitions
Smoke and flames rise among the residential buildings following an Israeli attack on Beirut, Lebanon
Netanyahu has promised to exact retribution on Iran following a ballistic missile strike on Israel by the Islamic Republic on October 1
IDF troops are pictured in southern Lebanon as Israeli military operations continue
The leak of classified documents comes as Israel last week issued the United States a list of demands Tel Aviv says must be met for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported.
Israel demanded its IDF forces be allowed to engage in ‘active enforcement’ to make sure Hezbollah does not rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border, the Axios report said, citing two US officials and two Israeli officials.
Israel also demanded its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese air space, the report added.
A US official warned it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s conditions, without specifying further what other demands were included in the letter.
White House special envoy Amos Hochstein is visiting Beirut on Monday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the report added.
Three weeks on from Iran’s large-scale ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month, speculation over the scope and scale of Tel Aviv’s expected revenge on Tehran rumbles on.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday confirmed that authorities in Washington launched an investigation into the release of classified documents assessing Israel’s preparation of missiles, saying the leak was very concerning.
‘There’s some serious allegations being made there… the investigation’s underway,’ he confirmed yesterday.
The US has reportedly warned Israel against a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, with President Joe Biden earlier this month declaring he does not support such a move.
But it appears to be a question of when, not if, Israel decides to respond, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials vowing to seek retribution.
Meanwhile, analysts naming a slew of potential Iranian targets that could end up in the crosshairs of the IAF.
Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at the RUSI think tank, told MailOnline: ‘Israel can’t be in the position of tolerating direct attacks from ballistic missiles on its territory, especially if those attacks increase in scale and begin to put pressure on the missile defence system.’
But they have also warned Tel Aviv must take into account the consequences of its response, given that a particularly punishing blow would only serve to ramp up tensions and hasten the prospect of an all-out war.
With that in mind, a strike on Iranian conventional military targets is seen as the safest way for Israel to effectively exact revenge.
These include radar and air defence sites, missile launch facilities, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps bases, and other infrastructure that are used to conduct traditional military operations.
Other targets that fall into this category are military storage, manufacturing and production assets, such as locations involved in the development of Iran‘s ballistic missile arsenal.
Attacking these targets serves the dual purpose of degrading Iran’s capacity to launch further strikes on Israel and underscoring Tel Aviv‘s willingness to engage in an armed conflict to defend itself.
Savill said such a move would ’emphasise Israel’s military superiority over Iran and widen the gap’, while crucially not escalating the conflict to a level that would necessitate an even harsher retort from Tehran.
After Iran’s unprecedented missile strike against Israel on Tuesday night in this rapidly unfolding conflict, it is no surprise that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already planning revenge
A missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in the south of Iran, in this handout image obtained on January 19, 2024
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran on August 27, 2024
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Army office on 19 January 2024 shows a missile being launched during a military drill in the Persian Gulf, southern Iran
A retaliatory strike on Tehran’s oil and gas infrastructure is another prospect reportedly being mulled over by Israeli officials, and one that would be considered a serious provocation.
Iran is the third biggest producer of crude oil in the OPEC group of oil-producing countries and is heavily reliant on exports of crude and gas to prop up its ailing economy amid years of sanctions.
The Islamic Republic is currently producing more than a staggering three million barrels a day, placing it at a five-year high, and between January and May of this year exported some 1.56 million barrels a day, primarily to China.
A consolidated assault on one or more of its vital refineries and terminals could have significant consequences for Tehran – and such tactics have already proven effective.
During the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, Saddam Hussein’s military ruthlessly targeted Iranian oil tankers and refineries in an effort to cut off the Islamic Republic’s regime’s primary revenue stream, severely damaging the nation’s economy.
There are three primary targets likely being considered by Israel, chief among which is Kharg Island.
This small spit of land adrift some 25 kilometres off Iran’s southern coastline in the northern Persian Gulf has essentially been turned into a massive oil facility – the Kharg Oil Terminal – which is said to be responsible for some 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports worldwide.
Other assets include Iran’s Abadan refinery – one of the most important domestic sources of Iranian oil production – and the Hormozgan oil terminals.
Located just 15 miles off Iran’s Northern coast, Kharg Island was once the world’s largest offshore crude oil terminal
A view of oil facilities on the Kharg island on the Persian Gulf about 1,250km south of Tehran on February 23, 2016
Unlike a strike on military targets, an attack designed to cripple Iran’s oil production and export capacities could significantly disrupt global oil prices.
It could also prompt Iran to finally follow through on one of its long-held threats.
The Strait of Hormuz – a narrow waterway through which roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows – serves as a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies.
If Israel moves to hit Iran’s oil infrastructure, Tehran may seek to block the strait, cutting off vital oil exports from all the Gulf states and triggering a global crisis that would see the price of crude skyrocket.
But an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities remains the most alarming prospect.
Several prominent figures in Israel, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, called for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme in the wake of Iran’s strike on October 1.
Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant, Bushehr – which is currently undergoing upgrades and is receiving additional reactors with the help of Russia – presents one possible target.
However, Israel is more likely to focus on uranium enrichment plants deemed vital to the development of nuclear weapons.
For decades Tehran claimed it had pursued nuclear capabilities for energy and scientific purposes, but Western nations are wary that Khamenei’s regime aims to create a nuclear arsenal.
Amid the decline of Iran’s relations with Israel and its Western allies, Iran’s state-run media recently trumpeted that it now has enough enriched uranium to create 10 nuclear warheads in the coming months – though there is no way of verifying the claim.
A satellite image and graphic shows a view of Iran’s heavily guarded underground uranium enrichment facility, Fordow
Various centrifuge machines line the halls at the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility, some 320km south of Tehran
The cities of Natanz and Isfahan in central Iran are home to the heart of Iran’s nuclear programme
Retired US Army Colonel Jonathan Sweet and security expert Mark Toth told MailOnline that Israel could certainly damage Tehran’s burgeoning nuclear programme, given its huge technological advantages and US-supplied weaponry.
‘(An Israeli attack) could take the form of the IDF striking Iran’s nuclear sites in an effort to kill two birds with one stone.
‘This would constitute a firm deterrent and could markedly set back Khamenei’s nuclear weapons programme.
‘Israel could deploy one or all of its long-range assets to strike those targets – F-35 stealth fighter-bombers, precision deep-strike ballistic missiles, and/or ICBM-equipped submarines.
‘This would not be easy, however – there are 38 known sites spread throughout Iran including Natanz and Fordow – and undoubtedly more.’
But RUSI’s Savill warned such a move may actually have the opposite of the desired effect.
He argued that Israel would be unlikely to completely dismantle the Iranian nuclear programme, and that any attempt to do so could encourage Tehran to accelerate its timeline to develop a weapon.
‘Israel alone can inflict serious damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, but it probably can’t destroy the deepest-buried ones without US assistance.
‘Iran has expanded Uranium enrichment volume and purity to the extent that it might only take a few weeks to have sufficient enriched for a weapon. However, there isn’t evidence that it has a weapon or delivery system ready.
‘A strike now might encourage Iran to believe that weaponisation is its only remaining defence,’ he concluded.
Another devastating but risky approach could be to target key figures on Iranian soil, from senior IRGC commanders and politicians up to and including President Masoud Pezeshkian – or even the Ayatollah himself.