Schools closed in Beirut after deadly Israeli air raid

Schools in Beirut were closed on Monday after rare strikes on central districts of the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah’s spokesman, the latest senior figure slain by Israel.

Israel escalated its bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds in late September, vowing to secure its northern border with Lebanon to allow Israelis displaced by cross-border fire to return home.

Sunday’s strikes hit densely populated districts of central Beirut that had so far been spared the violence engulfing other areas of Lebanon, including Hezbollah’s largely emptied bastion in the city’s southern suburbs.

Six people were killed in two separate strikes, according to the Lebanese health ministry, including Hezbollah media relations chief Mohammed Afif, the group said.

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Israel’s military confirmed it had carried out the strike that killed Afif but did not comment on a second attack in central Beirut.

“In a quarter of an hour our whole life’s work was lost,” said Shukri Fuad, whose shop was destroyed in the second strike that hit a busy shopping district, sparking a huge blaze.

The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days.

Children and young people around Lebanon have been heavily impacted by the war, which has seen schools around the country turned into shelters for the displaced.

Israel widened the focus of its war from Gaza to Lebanon in late September, nearly a year into the conflict in Gaza that was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.

In support of its Palestinian ally, Hezbollah launched low-intensity strikes on Israel after the attack, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.

With Hamas weakened but not crushed, Israel escalated its battle against Hezbollah, vowing to fight until victory.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,480 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israeli strikes have killed senior Hezbollah officials including its leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September.

The group’s spokesman Afif, who was laid to rest on Monday in the southern city of Sidon, was part of Nasrallah’s inner circle and one of few Hezbollah officials to engage with the press.