BEIRUT: An Israeli air strike on Wednesday destroyed the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon, killing the mayor and 15 others as they met to coordinate aid for those suffering from war.

The attack raised fears that Israel’s expanding air campaign, designed to crush Hezbollah, could increasingly include public officials and buildings, which so far have been spared.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the provincial capital, saying it “intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city’s service and relief situation”.

It was the most significant Israeli hit yet on a Lebanese state building since it expanded its offensive last month and came despite US concerns about rising death tolls and the prospect of all-out war in the oil-producing Middle East.

Israel in recent weeks has assassinated Hezbollah’s senior leadership and pushed into southern border towns, saying it wants to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return home to the country’s north.

After Israel first issued an evacuation notice on Oct 3 for Nabatieh, a city of tens of thousands of people, a reporter called mayor Ahmed Kahil to ask if he would leave.

He said he would not.

Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the Nabatieh area and its navy also hit dozens of targets in southern Lebanon.

It claimed it had “dismantled” a tunnel network used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in the heart of a town near the border with Israel, publishing a video showing multiple explosions rocking a cluster of buildings.

Lebanese officials said it was the small town of Mhaibib, home to a religious shrine.

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said civilian suffering was reaching an unprecedented level after the Israeli strike on Nabatieh.

Earlier on Wednesday, one Israeli air strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Witnesses heard two blasts and saw plumes of smoke rising from two separate neighbourhoods. The blasts came after Israel issued an evacuation order which mentioned only one building.

US concern

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US had expressed its concerns to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration on the recent attacks on Beirut.

Israeli operations have led to heavy civilian casualties, leading Western allies, including France, to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Israeli operations in Lebanon have killed 2,350 people over the last year, according to the health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced. The UN says a quarter of the country is under evacuation orders.

The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but includes hundreds of women and children.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2024