Israel bombs Beirut targets as Iran calls on Arab world to unite

Israel carried out huge bombing raids on Hezbollah targets near Beirut airport alongside ground attacks in southern Lebanon, while Iran’s leader called on the Arab world to unite amid the escalating conflict.

The airstrikes in the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital targeted the potential successor of the militant group’s assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah and other figures, the New York Times and other U.S. media reported, citing Israeli officials. It was not known if Hashem Safieddine died in the bombardment, which residents said shook buildings in the city.

Since last month, Israel has stepped up a campaign to eliminate threats from Iran-backed Hezbollah, killing much of its top leadership and sending troops into southern Lebanon for the first time since a 2006 war. The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it’s killed Hezbollah militants from the air and at close range. Troops recovered rocket launchers and other weapons during the operations, the IDF said.

Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night in retaliation for the attacks on Hezbollah and the killing of a Hamas leader in July, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond. That’s raised fears of major tit-for-tat attacks that could trigger a region-wide war and drag in the U.S., Israel’s main ally.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — leading Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since January 2020 — told a huge crowd the Islamic Republic will strike again if necessary, having so far delivered the “minimum punishment” possible to Israel. He urged Arab and Muslim countries to unite against what he described as a common enemy.

“We’ll neither hesitate nor rush in fulfilling our duties,” Khamenei said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Beirut on Friday and met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. He said a diplomatic solution is needed to stop Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza, according to a statement by the ministry’s spokesman.

Oil surged on Thursday when U.S. President Joe Biden, responding to a question about whether the U.S. would support Israeli assaults on Iran’s oil infrastructure, said: “We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little — anyways.”

Brent extended gains Friday, heading for its strongest weekly increase in two years. Israeli assets have been hit, with the shekel down 2.5% against the dollar this week, one of the worst performers globally.

Netanyahu is under pressure at home to carry out a bigger counter-strike against Iran than in April. Then, Israel caused limited damage at a Iranian military facility in revenge for Tehran firing 300 missiles and drones, almost all of which were intercepted.

The outcome was similar on Tuesday, though Iran gave less warning and more missiles breached Israel’s air defenses. One person was killed in the West Bank, and Israeli media reported that several air bases were hit.

Israel said its actions in Lebanon — more than 1,500 people have been killed in airstrikes in recent weeks and around one million have been displaced, according to Lebanese officials — are necessary to end a year of cross-border rocket attacks by Hezbollah. Those, carried out in solidarity with Hamas, have forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes in the north of the country.

Lebanon said 37 more people were killed by strikes on Thursday and more than 150 were wounded. As well as Beirut, Israeli jets struck south Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in the north-east and the Mount Lebanon region in the north, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Israel struck the main crossing between Syria and Lebanon, which cut off the route completely, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency. Tens of thousands of people have fled to Syria, which Israel accuses of allowing the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah. The IDF meanwhile ordered the evacuation of more than 30 settlements in southern Lebanon.

The Group of Seven nations called for “restraint” among the warring sides and warned about an “uncontrollable escalation in the Middle East.”

They also called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel’s campaign to defeat Hamas — another Iran-supported militia — has killed some 41,000 people according to the Hamas-run health authority. That war was triggered by the group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, during which its fighters killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage.

Truce talks between Hamas and Israel have stalled, but fighting has eased with the Palestinian group suffering dire losses. That’s allowed Israel to focus more on the north and Hezbollah.

The U.S. considers both Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist groups.

The fighting in Gaza has spilled over into the West Bank, where control is split between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli air force overnight bombed the West Bank town of Tulkarm, killing a local Hamas leader and other militants. The strike also killed 18 people in a refugee camp, the Palestinian health ministry said.