Aftermath of Israeli air strikes in central Beirut

The Lebanese government’s ministry of public health reported that the Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut on Thursday caused at least 22 fatalities and 117 injuries, the third such attack since Israel’s bombing campaign began earlier this month.

According to Laura Khan, a reporter for Al Jazeera, many people who have recently been displaced from southern Lebanon have sought refuge in the capital.

“Many people who had fled southern Lebanon had found shelter here, and it’s just becoming re-traumatising, unpredictable and dangerous”, Khan said.

Local hospitals sent out a warning to people not donate blood because they were already overwhelmed by the number of casualties and the inflow of family members.

A family of five people who had fled southern Lebanon were killed along with three host families, according to Al Jazeera’s correspondents on the ground.

The attacks, which occurred without notice, are the third time Israel’s bombs have been fired outside Dahiyeh, a southern suburb that has experienced nearly daily air raids in recent weeks, since Israel expanded its airstrikes against Lebanon in late September.

Source: Aljazeera