The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and its southern outskirts late on Wednesday and early Thursday, the latest in a bombing campaign that Lebanese officials said has driven 800,000 people from their homes.
The attacks sent the sound of booming explosions across Beirut, spreading chaos and fear through the streets while the skies filled with pillars of smoke.
One of the strikes killed at least seven people and injured 21 more in the Beirut neighborhood of Ramlet al Baida, according to the country’s health ministry.
Footage of the strike’s aftermath broadcast on Al Jazeera showed smoke rising from a seaside road in the neighborhood, where many people who fled Israeli bombing in other parts of Lebanon had gone for safety.
Other overnight strikes appear to have been concentrated on the Dahiya, a densely populated residential area just outside the city where Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia and political party, has long held sway.
In a statement, Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military, said it had struck more than two dozen sites in Lebanon late Wednesday and early Thursday.
Israel’s bombardment has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the strikes on Wednesday night injured at least 17 people in the Dahiya.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel last week in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. In response, Israel has struck sites in Lebanon that it has described as connected to the group, and has relentlessly bombed the Dahiya.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday night that it struck the Dahiya because of Hezbollah’s “deliberate decision to attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime” and that its attacks had targeted the militant group’s “infrastructure.”
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has spread beyond the Dahiya. In recent days, Israeli forces have struck two hotels in or near Beirut, including one that was housing displaced families and another where Israel has said Iranian operatives were meeting.
Israel struck an apartment building in central Beirut on Wednesday morning, injuring at least four people and sending debris and twisted rebar crashing into the street outside the building.
In the evening, Hezbollah said it would launch its own wave of rocket attacks on Israel in response to the strike on the apartment. The Israeli police later said those attacks had not caused any known casualties.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region.
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