Israeli airstrikes Wednesday hit the Nabatieh, Lebanon municipal building during a crisis meeting, killing at least six people, including the mayor.

According to Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati, the attacks targeted a municipal council meeting. Israel's military said the strikes had hit Hezbollah sites in the Nabatieh area.

Hezbollah underground weapon storage sites in Beirut's southern suburbs were the targets of two strikes, the Israeli military said in a statement.

An eyewitness told the BBC the strikes created "frantic terror" as at least nine strikes hit the city within 30 minutes. The local witness said the mayor was at a meeting to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Nabatieh.

The Israeli Defense Forces said in a Telegram post they "struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Nabatieh area and dismantled underground infrastructure used by Hezbollah's Radwan Forces in southern Lebanon.

"The targets include terrorist infrastructure sites, Hezbollah command centers, and weapons storage facilities, which were embedded by Hezbollah adjacent to civilian infrastructure, exploiting the civilian population as a human shield," the IDF post said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters during a briefing Tuesday that the United States is opposed to the "scope and nature" of Israel's Beirut bombings due to the heavy civilian death toll.

"We have made clear to Israel that we oppose the bombing campaign that they had been launching over recent weeks in Beirut," Miller said.

Syria state media says Israeli air strike hits Latakia
Damascus (AFP) Oct 17, 2024 –

Syrian state media said Thursday an Israeli air strike hit the coastal city of Latakia, targeting a weapons depot according to a war monitor.

"Anti-aircraft defence intercepted hostile targets above Latakia," SANA said without mentioning casualties or damage.

The news agency reported "fires were triggered by the Israeli aggression" at the entrance to Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad.

The government is allied to Hezbollah, which is at war with Israel in neighbouring Lebanon.

The Israeli military, which has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years, would not comment on the Latakia bombardment when contacted by AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the Israeli raid "targeted a weapons depot in Latakia city".

Strikes have been rare on the port city, which is near the Russian air base in Hmeimim.

The Observatory on October 3 reported drones hit a weapons depot near Jableh, located in Latakia province next to Hmeimim.

"Huge explosions were heard from far away," the monitor said without detailing the source of the drones.

Anti-aircraft defence systems operated by Syria and Russia, an ally of Assad, attempted to intercept the missiles according to the Observatory.

Syrian state media did not report on the Jableh strikes.

The Israeli military has intensified its raids on Syria in parallel with its escalation in Lebanon, where for more than three weeks it has heavily bombarded Hezbollah bastions.

Israel accuses the Lebanese group of transferring weapons through Syria.

Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has mainly targeted army positions and Iran-backed fighters in the country, including Hezbollah.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.

An Israeli air strike in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 8 killed 13 people, including nine civilians, according to the Observatory.