Scott Peterson
The Israeli airstrikes on a crowded central Beirut district after nightfall Thursday came without warning, in an apparent attempt by Israel to add to its long list of top Hezbollah leaders and commanders assassinated in recent weeks.
The airstrikes brought down one entire apartment block – within it, a long-standing Hezbollah office – and damaged another, leaving 22 people dead and the local Shiite community in shock.
“I am surprised by what happened – there is nobody here, just families, and I know them all,” says one man who gave the name Haidar, as he breathed the acrid burnt air that permeated the district Friday and cleared rubble from the crumpled roof of his car.
Israel’s assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon represents a dramatic broadening of the yearlong war in the Middle East. How Iran’s most important regional ally responds will determine the postwar balance of power between Israel and Iran.
Hezbollah said Israel’s apparent target, senior official Wafiq Safa, was not among the casualties.
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