The attack on central Beirut used US-made munitions, killing 22 people and injuring 117, according to an analysis by the Guardian of debris found at the scene of the attack.
The strike on Thursday night hit an apartment complex in the densely populated area of Basta, destroying it and destroying cars and the interiors of nearby homes.
It was the deadliest attack on the Lebanese capital since fighting began between Hezbollah and Israel a year ago.
First responders at the scene said rescuers worked through the night to find survivors and retrieve the dead from beneath the rubble. Residents had recently welcomed people fleeing Israeli bombing in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, and they said the building had more people than usual. This increased the number of people injured and killed by airstrikes.
The building was one of two attacks in central Beirut on Thursday night, targeting Wafik Safa, a Hezbollah official who heads Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination department and is responsible for cooperating with Lebanese security services. It became. According to Reuters, Safa survived the assassination attempt.
The Guardian newspaper discovered the remains of a US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (Jdam) in the rubble of a collapsed apartment building on Friday afternoon. Jdams is a guidance kit manufactured by the American aerospace company Boeing that attaches to large “dumb bombs” weighing up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg) to convert them into GPS-guided bombs.
The remains of the weapon were identified by Human Rights Watch’s Crisis, Conflicts, and Weapons Division and a former U.S. military bomb technician.
“The bolt pattern, its location, and the shape of the wreckage are consistent with the tail of the U.S.-made Jdam guidance kit for the Mk80 series of air-dropped munitions,” said Richard Weir, a senior research fellow in human rights affairs. Watch Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division after looking at photos of fragments. The Mk80 series includes three classes of bombs, the smallest weighing 500 pounds and the largest weighing 2,000 pounds.
Residents walk with their belongings over the rubble of destroyed buildings at the site of Thursday’s Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Photo: Bilal Hussain/AP”The use of these weapons in densely populated areas, such as this one, places civilians and civilian objects in the immediate area at significant risk of immediate and lasting harm,” Weir said. he said.
American weapons have been key to Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the Jadam, in particular, is one of the weapons Israel most requests from the United States. A previous investigation by the Guardian found that Jdam was used in an attack that killed seven health workers and was deemed a violation of international law by Human Rights Watch.
Thursday’s attack is the first confirmed use of American munitions in an attack on central Beirut since 2006.
The United States has faced harsh criticism for continuing to provide military aid to Israel, which amounted to $17.9 billion last year. In September, more than a dozen human rights groups signed a joint letter to U.S. President Joe Biden halting arms transfers to Israel because of the use of U.S. munitions in attacks on civilians in Gaza. asked to do so. Israel is currently fighting a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza war.
strike map
In Lebanon, people are reeling from the intensity of Israeli airstrikes on the country that began on September 23.
Survivors living in the damaged apartments appeared still in a state of shock Friday afternoon. The couple carefully stepped over the rubble to reach what was once an apartment building, picking up clothes strewn on the ground and placing them in plastic bags with the few belongings they could salvage.
Ali, 30, who lives on a nearby street, was at the strike scene on Friday afternoon, holding a photo of his uncle who was killed the night before, holding a thumbs up and saying a prayer under his breath. Prayer beads. His uncle is from Maes al-Jabal, a town on the Israel-Lebanon border, and had recently fled to stay with relatives in Beirut.
“This strike is painful not only for him and his loved ones, but also for everyone he helped and served. This was supposed to be a safe place,” Ali said.
Basta is a predominantly working-class Sunni Muslim neighborhood known for its antiques and traditional architecture. During the busy season, tourists can often be seen walking through this area and market where antiques and furniture are sold.
More than 2,100 people have been killed and more than 10,212 injured in Lebanon since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel “in solidarity” with the Hamas attack the day before. The majority have been killed since September 23 of this year, when Israel announced a new phase of its war against Hezbollah called Operation Northern Arrows.
