13 killed in Israeli strike near southern Beirut's main hospital

FADEL ITANI/AFP

Thirteen people were killed, including at least one child, and 57 others were injured by an Israeli airstrike near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, southern Beirut's main government hospital, on Monday. 

The exact target of the strike was not clarified by Israeli authorities. 

The Israeli military later said on Tuesday afternoon it "did not target the hospital" and its "operations were not affected."

The manager of Rafik Hariri University Hospital said in a press conference the hospital sustained material damage and efforts to recover injured people are ongoing. 

The strike was one of 13 strikes conducted in southern Beirut by the Israeli military on Monday evening. 

Another hospital in Beirut, Al Saleh Hospital, was evacuated after Israel said Hezbollah was hiding $500 million dollars underneath it. Israel did not provide evidence or further information to media. 

Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said that Israeli intelligence had discovered a bunker belonging to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah now being used as a finance vault under the hospital and that it held millions of dollars of gold and cash. Hagari did not provide evidence for the claims. 

On Sunday, Israel said it has moved to target Hezbollah's financial arm.

An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement posted on social media platform X that it "will begin attacking infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association." 

Israel said on Monday that it struck about 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over 24 hours. The Israeli military also said about 170 projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel on Monday.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon has displaced more than 1.2 million people multiple times, according to Lebanese authorities. Israel says its aim is to drive Hezbollah fighters from the border region so tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they were forced to flee over the past year due to Hezbollah cross-border fire in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza. 

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