Israeli airstrikes kill three on Beirut airport road as Lebanon conflict widens

Two Israeli airstrikes targeting vehicles on the highway leading to Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport killed three people and wounded six others Wednesday, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone struck a vehicle on the airport road before a second car was targeted minutes later in the same area, sending casualties to nearby hospitals.

Israel claims Hezbollah targets

The Israeli army claimed that two Hezbollah members were targeted in the Beirut area but provided no further details about those killed. Israel's Channel 12 reported that the intended target was Hezbollah's official responsible for "fire management," though the person's identity was not disclosed. The military later announced it had completed a "wave of attacks" in Lebanon, claiming destruction of Hezbollah rocket launch sites south of the Litani River and a drone production workshop.

Wider strikes continue

Lebanese media reported that Israeli warplanes also carried out an airstrike on the city of Choueifat south of Beirut, expanding the geographic scope of attacks beyond the capital's southern suburbs. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said sirens were activated in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona after detecting a drone launch from Lebanon, indicating continued cross-border exchanges.

Regional escalation context

The strikes come amid a wider regional escalation following US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly 1,000 others. Hezbollah announced early Monday that it had targeted a military site in northern Israel with rockets and drones in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the assassination of Iran's supreme leader. Israel subsequently launched an "offensive campaign" against Hezbollah, carrying out airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.

Conflict toll mounts

While Israel states it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, Lebanese media report that civilian facilities have also been hit. Israel imposes strict restrictions on publishing information about casualties from Iranian or Hezbollah strikes and bans circulation of related footage. Israel's war on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and escalated into full-scale conflict in September 2024, has killed more than 4,000 people and injured approximately 17,000 others, with the current offensive adding to those grim totals.