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Hundreds mourn children killed in Beirut blast as border violence threatens to spiral

The grief at the funeral for two young children in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, was palpable.

Children weeping, girls clinging to each other, women openly sobbing.

The young brother and sister were killed in the Israeli ‘targeted’ assassination of one of Hezbollah’s top commanders Fahd Shukr.

A child on a man's shoulders at a Hezbollah funeral in Beirut, Lebanon
Image:
A child on a man’s shoulders at a funeral in Beirut

But the Israeli blast – at dusk and in a heavily populated residential area – impacted at least nine buildings, including a hospital, and killed four civilians (including the two children and two women) and left more than 70 wounded.

The children’s funeral drew hundreds of mourners to the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

The building where the commander was looks as though the top few floors have been crushed by the bomb.

His body took a night and day to dig out – along with the body of an Iranian military adviser named as Milad Bidi.

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Israel has blamed Hezbollah but the group denied being responsible for the attack.
Image:
Sky News’ Alex Crawford reporting from Beirut

The Israeli prime minister immediately claimed the strike as a “crushing blow” against Iranian proxies in the region.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination of the Hamas chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh about 12 hours later in Tehran, but that is also widely being attributed to them.

The twin strikes have left the region at its most dangerous point of potentially imploding in the 10 months of continuous bombardment in Gaza, and thousands of cross-border attacks between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

Nearly 200,000 people have had to flee their homes on either side of the border because of the tit-for-tat strikes.

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024 in this screen grab from a video obtained by Reuters. Reuters TV via REUTERS. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Image:
Smoke rises following a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Pic: Reuters

Diplomats and politicians have now been left scrambling to try to put a lid on emotions and are doubling down on their urgings for maximum restraint.

The Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to remotely address the Lebanese nation on Thursday at the funeral of the commander who was recognised as his deputy – his right-hand man.

There is certain to be much anger among those present – once again directed at their neighbour.

Police members remove the rubble at a damaged site the day after an Israeli strike, in Beirut.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Police remove the rubble at a damaged site in Beirut. Pic: Reuters


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Read more:
Iran vows ‘punishment’ over killing of Hamas leader on its soil
Why the death of Hamas leader is such a major blow
What is the two-state solution?

This continuing cycle of violence is deepening the suspicion and hatred between the two neighbours.

Whatever Nasrallah says will be keenly watched and examined by all those in the region.

But all expectations are the violence is unlikely to stop here.

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