Death toll from Israeli strike on suburb in Lebanon’s Beirut rises to 37

The death toll from an Israeli air attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs has risen to 37 people, including three children and seven women, Lebanon’s health minister says.

The strike, which wrecked two buildings in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiya district during rush hour on Friday, also injured more than 60 people, Health Minister Firass Abiad told a news conference on Saturday.

The three children killed were aged four, six and 10, according to Abiad. Emergency personnel was still searching for 17 people under the rubble.

“[The rescue operation] could continue for another day or so,” Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari reported from Beirut.

“There is still a sense of shock and fear,” she added. “Many of the shops in this area are closed, there are very few people present as many have chosen to pack up and leave.”

Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh told Al Jazeera Arabic that the bombing of a residential building constituted a “war crime” and that Israel was “dragging the region into a war”.

Israel’s military said it carried out a “targeted strike” against senior members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in the Beirut suburb. An Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday that “at least 16 Hezbollah militants” were killed in the attack.

Hezbollah confirmed that two of its top commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmad Mahmoud Wahabi, along with 12 other members, were killed. In July, an Israeli air strike killed Fuad Shukr, the group’s top military commander.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Lebanon had entered a “decisive” phase after the attack on the residential suburb, telling a news conference on Saturday that everything must be done to prevent further violations of Lebanese territory and avoid further deterioration of the security situation.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel was committing “shameless crimes” against children, not fighters. He also called for “inner strength” among Muslims to eliminate the “malignant cancerous tumour” from Palestine.

Friday’s air attack on the densely populated area followed explosions of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was also blamed on Israel and killed at least 39 people while wounding close to 3,000 others.