Israel pounds Beirut suburbs after Hezbollah fires volley of rockets

(Reuters)

BEIRUT/NAZARETH, March 11- Israeli strikes battered Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Wednesday, lighting up the skyline with flashes ​of red and setting buildings on fire, after the Lebanese-armed group Hezbollah launched a volley of rockets into northern Israel.

Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah after it opened fire on ‌March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, and uprooted 800,000 more, Lebanese authorities say.

On Wednesday night, Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel as part of a “series of operations,” indicating there could be more to come. Lebanese security sources told Reuters more than 100 rockets were launched.

A senior Israeli defence official said ​Iran and Hezbollah had launched a joint missile attack, describing it as the first coordinated action against Israel since the war began.

In the early hours of Thursday, Lebanon’s health ​ministry said at least eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s Ramlet al-Baida seafront.