Israel bombs greater Beirut area 20 times in 2 minutes ahead of cabinet meeting to vote on ceasefire

The Israeli military bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs 20 times in two minutes on Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli military spokesperson said, marking one of the most intensive bombardment campaigns near the Lebanese capital since the start of the war over two months ago.

“Breaking: 20 terror targets in the last 120 seconds: the IDF has attacked terror targets in Beirut, including administrative targets and storage locations for money belonging to Hezbollah,” said Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X at 3:57 p.m. Beirut time, just minutes before the Israeli cabinet was scheduled to meet for a vote on a possible ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Large clouds of smoke blanketed Beirut after the rapid succession of strikes in Dahiyeh, the capital’s residential southern suburbs which is also Hezbollah’s seat of power. The area, home to some 1 million people, has largely been evacuated since the start of near nightly strikes there on September 27.

The bombardment comes as Lebanon and Israel gear up for an imminent ceasefire announcement.