BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS - Israeli warplanes renewed raids on Beirut's southern suburbs Wednesday night, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
NNA reported that Israeli warplanes launched three raids on the areas of Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik.
The raids came after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings on the X platform to residents of several buildings in the targeted area.
With tonight's raids, the number of raids targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday rose to 18, with Dahieh subjected to a wave of six raids before noon, preceded by nine raids at dawn.
According to scenes broadcast on social media, those raids caused fires and massive destruction in the targeted buildings, some leveled to the ground.
The total death toll from Israeli attacks since Oct 8, 2023, has risen to 3,365, while injuries went up to 14,344, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Since Sept 23, the Israeli army has intensified its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel further initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon in early October.
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UN Security Council condemns attack on peacekeepers
Also on Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council issued a press statement condemning the recent attacks against peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, the members of the Security Council condemned the several incidents that impacted the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) positions and injured UNIFIL peacekeepers in the past weeks, including the ones on Oct 29, Nov 7 and Nov 8, according to the statement.
The council members urged all parties to take all measures to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, and recalled that peacekeepers must never be the target of an attack.
In the statement, they reiterated their full support to UNIFIL, underscoring its role in supporting regional stability and expressed deep appreciation to its troop-contributing countries.
The council members voiced deep concern for civilian casualties and sufferings, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the damage to cultural heritage sites in Lebanon and endangerment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage sites in Baalbeck and Tyre, and the rising number of internally displaced people.
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They called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law and fully implement Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), according to the statement.
