Among the seven people killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut Wednesday was reportedly Youssef Hashem, described by some as the “most senior commander” Israel has targeted so far in their latest invasion of Lebanon.
Hashem was the commander in charge of coordination with Iraqi Shi’ite movements. The IDF, however, claimed he was also Hezbollah’s commander for the whole of southern Lebanon, which makes it somewhat curious that he was in Beirut, which isn’t proximal to the frontlines.
It is reported Hashem was in a tent at the time of the strike, which reportedly targeted a bunch of parked cars by the side of the road near a school, where a large number of displaced people have been taking shelter.
Smoke and fire come out of a building that was targeted by an Israeli air strike on the edge of Beirut southern suburb and close to the Iranian embassy (via Reuters Connect)
The attack killed five people and wounded 21 others, according to reports. Two other people were also killed in a separate strike in Khaldeh, just outside the capital. Since Israel invaded Lebanon in early March, strikes on Beirut have been increasingly common.
In addition to the Beirut strikes, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least six people. This included two people in Mansouri and a family of four in Houmine El-Tahta The Lebanese Health Ministry reported 1,318 people have been killed so far in the war, and 3,935 others wounded.
Yesterday, Israeli Defense Minster Israel Katz announced his intention to occupy the whole of southern Lebanon militarily as part of this war. While northern Israelis see this is as ticket to their return to normalcy, many in Lebanon are concerned that the reality is that Israeli occupation forces may simply never leave.
There is also reporting that Israel intends to forcibly change the demographics of occupied southern Lebanon, quietly reassuring Lebanese Christians and Druze that they’ll be allowed to return while telling them they don’t intend to allow the Shi’ites back in. Shi’ites are the majority of the population of Lebanon’s south.
Or at least they were. Israel ordered the whole of southern Lebanon evacuated, and Katz says that encompasses some 600,000 people who are displaced, none of which are allowed to return right now. Apparently that’s temporary, at least for some of them, but for a large number, this displacement may be more or less permanent.
