The death toll from an Israeli air attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs has risen to 37 people, including three children and seven women, Lebanon’s health minister says.
The strike, which wrecked two buildings in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiya district during rush hour on Friday, also injured more than 60 people, Health Minister Firass Abiad told a news conference on Saturday.
The three children killed were aged four, six and 10, according to Abiad.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh said the bombing of a residential building constituted a “war crime” and that Israel was “dragging the region into a war”.
Israel’s military said it carried out a “targeted strike” against senior members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in the Beirut suburb. An Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday that “at least 16 Hezbollah militants” were killed in the attack.
Hezbollah confirmed that two of its top commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmad Mahmoud Wahabi, along with 12 other members, were killed. In July, an Israeli air strike killed Fuad Shukr, the group’s top military commander.
