Lebanon reels from Israeli attacks on central Beirut as violent raids continue

Lebanon is still reeling from an Israeli attack on central Beirut on Sunday, which killed at least two people in the Mar Elias neighbourhood and four others in the Ras al-Nabaa area, while violent raids continue.

Firefighters and emergency crews are still scrambling to rescue people, put out fires and assess the damage following the attack which killed Hezbollah media chief Mohammed Afif.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) also announced on Monday that Israeli jets killed six more paramedics, after bombing the Islamic Health Authority in Nabatieh's Arab Salim village.

NNA said the raids were the "most violent" since the beginning of the war.

This comes after two rescue workers were killed in separate attacks in Nabatieh and south Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said.

According to NNA, the raids on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon targeted the city centre as well as dozens of towns and villages in the governorate.

Rights groups have accused Israel of directly targeting healthcare workers in Lebanon, with at least 208 health sector workers killed as of 15 November, the country's ministry of public health said.

Healthcare services and emergency medical services have also been repeatedly attacked, leaving at least 40 hospitals damaged and eight of them completely out of use.

Abbas Halabi, Lebanon's education minister, announced that schools and universities in Beirut and the Mount Lebanon Governorate would close for two days following the most recent attacks, citing safety concerns.

He also called on all schools in several districts, including Chouf, Baabda and Aley to suspend in-person classes, reiterating that institutions should exercise caution and follow instructions issued by the ministry.

Ceasefire talks

The latest developments come as US envoy Amos Hochstein is set to travel to Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Reuters reported citing a Lebanese political source.

Lebanese news outlet Sawt Lebanon also confirmed the visit, quoting Lebanese parliament member, Qassem Hashem.

The US had submitted a new ceasefire deal proposal to put an end to the over year of fighting, and Hezbollah responded yesterday evening.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar said the response from the Lebanese government on the US ceasefire proposal is expected today. It also reported, citing sources, that Hezbollah reacted to the truce proposal with "great openness".

According to reports, the US proposal has 13 main points, with the most notable being that a ceasefire comes into force in 60 days.

However, Benny Gantz, a former member of Israel’s war cabinet, said any ceasefire deal should include "full Israeli freedom of action against any violation" in a post on social media platform X.

Last week, France's foreign minister said Israeli officials are insisting on having the freedom to strike Lebanon at any time as part of their conditions to agree on a truce.

Several diplomats said that it would be all but impossible to get Hezbollah or Lebanon to accept any proposal that included such conditions.

Israel's attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,481 people and wounded 14,786 others since October 2023.