The Israeli military expanded its airstrikes on central Beirut on Wednesday, destroying buildings and sending residents fleeing from neighborhoods that had been considered safe, in a sharp escalation of its campaign against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.
Most Israeli airstrikes have targeted Dahiya, a densely populated area on the southern outskirts of Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway, as well as in eastern and southern Lebanon. But Israel has started to strike central Beirut, often without issuing a warning as it has done ahead of other attacks. Israeli officials say the strikes have targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and personnel in Beirut.
That bombardment intensified early Wednesday morning, as Israeli airstrikes hit at least four buildings in central Beirut, causing one to collapse. That strike was the first time Israel destroyed an entire building in the center of the city since the start of the war.
At least 10 people were killed and 27 others injured from the overnight strikes in Beirut the Lebanese health ministry said.
The strikes shook the Lebanese capital as Israel reissued an evacuation warning for much of southern Lebanon and days after the Israeli military dropped leaflets over central Beirut calling on people to confront Hezbollah.
“Have you seen what happened in Gaza? It will be the same here,” said Hassan Jawad, 40, who lives in an apartment near the collapsed building in the Bachoura district of central Beirut. The Israeli military said the building had been used by Hezbollah.
An hour after the strike, Mr. Jawad stood across from the destroyed building. All that remained of it was a pile of rubble with broken rebar poking through chunks of concrete. Dust and smoke hung in the air. Nearby, municipal workers used excavators to clean debris off the roads.
Mr. Jawad had awakened to the sounds of strikes in a nearby neighborhood hours earlier. After the Israeli military published an evacuation warning for the building on social media, he heard gunshots from his neighbors — an informal signal ahead of strikes. He woke up his wife, daughter and son, and the four sped out of the evacuation zone on his motorcycle.
“I think this war will be longer than the last one,” Mr. Jawad said, standing beside the rubble. “My father, my grandfather lived through times like this. Nothing ever changes, it’s happening over and over again.”
That strike was the only one in central Beirut overnight for which the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning.
An unannounced strike in Beirut’s central Zuqaq al-Blat district early Wednesday set the upper floors of a building on fire, sending plums of thick smoke into the sky. Ambulances raced there to evacuate and treat the injured.
In the Fathallah area of Beirut, Hezbollah members cordoned off the road where another building had been hit. Crushed and burned cars sat on the side of the road, next to shreds of mattresses, bicycle tires and bits of clothes.
Abu Hussein, 67, who gave only his nickname because of security concerns, left his home on the outskirts of Dahiya about a week ago after Israel issued a sweeping evacuation warning for the area. He said he had fallen asleep on Tuesday night before waking up around 1:30 a.m. to the loud crash of the strike.
“I was very scared, it happened right in front of us,” he recalled. He said his 82-year-old aunt started screaming as his building shook. “It’s different from fighting in the street, the danger comes suddenly, from the sky,” he said.
Abu Hussein said he left the area with his aunt on foot, because the street was too littered with debris for them to ride his motorcycle. He kept his arm wrapped around her to keep her balanced as they stepped over broken concrete and shards of glass.
“Beirut is not safe anymore, absolutely not,” he said, standing beside the building that was hit later on Wednesday. Collecting his things, he said he planned to leave the city for a town further north along the coast, Jbeil, where he has relatives.
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.
Christina Goldbaum is The Times’s bureau chief in Beirut, leading coverage of Lebanon and Syria.
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