Israeli airstrikes hit districts in southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanese news agency says
Israeli airstrikes targeted several districts in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh on Tuesday evening, as reported by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
Areas affected included Haret Hreik, Laylaki, and Burj Al-Barajneh, but it remains unclear if there were any casualties.
This region is a stronghold for Hezbollah and also features densely populated residential areas. Earlier on Tuesday, IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared images and maps of buildings in the affected districts on X, urging nearby residents to evacuate for their safety. He claimed the targeted structures were associated with Hezbollah.
Blinken meets with families of American-Israeli hostages
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the families of American-Israeli hostages held in Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters.
The families urged Blinken, who is visiting Israel as part of a regional tour, to exert “more pressure” on mediating countries to restart negotiations for a hostage deal, particularly targeting Qatar. They emphasized the need to capitalize on the death of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by the Israel Defense Forces last week, as an opportunity to advance negotiations for the return of all hostages—both living for rehabilitation and deceased for proper burial.
Of the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza, seven are American-Israeli. At a separate event with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken remarked that Sinwar’s death presented “an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end, and to ensure Israel’s security.”
Blinken also held discussions with several top Israeli officials during his visit and is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to a senior administration official.
