The death toll from an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut early Saturday has risen to 11, with 23 others injured, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense Service. A statement from Civil Defense confirmed that 11 bodies were pulled from the rubble of a residential building destroyed in the Basta neighborhood. It added that 23 people were rescued alive and taken to nearby hospitals, where several remain in critical condition. The Lebanese Health Ministry initially reported that four people had been "martyred and 23 injured" shortly after the attack, which it attributed to an Israeli airstrike on the densely populated Al-Mamoun Street in Basta. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the strike leveled the residential building, leaving rescuers and emergency teams scrambling to retrieve victims and assist survivors amid the debris. This airstrike is part of Israel's ongoing cross-border military campaign against what it alleges are Hezbollah targets. The offensive, which began in late September, has escalated tensions between the two countries. Lebanese health authorities report that Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,600 people, injured over 15,300, and displaced over 1 million individuals since October. The conflict intensified further when Israel launched a ground assault into southern Lebanon on October 1. — Agencies
