Lebanon says 51 killed, over 220 injured in Israeli strikes Wednesday

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00:00In Lebanon, Israeli strikes today have killed at least 22 people.

00:05Bombardments are focused in the south and the east of Lebanon, but have hit areas beyond

00:10Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

00:14Let's start by listening to witnesses to strikes in the southern areas of Giyeh and Tayeh.

00:23This is a civilian facility specialising in fixing cars, just that.

00:29We came at night and we saw that the facility was struck.

00:33And Israel said it's a weapons depot.

00:36That's not true.

00:41We felt the strike and debris flying.

00:45The shrapnel fell on the house.

00:48We couldn't see because of the dust and destruction.

00:53Everything blew up.

00:54We don't know what we're going to do.

00:56Bombs were landing on either side of us, so we packed up our clothes.

00:59Our boss said it was an attack to scare us, but they were bombing to either side of us

01:02and started to hit us.

01:05Our situation isn't very good.

01:07The bombings are not normal for us.

01:10We're in a difficult place at the moment.

01:12It was challenging for us to reach this location because of the strikes from the Israelis.

01:19Let's cross live to Beirut now.

01:21Rawad Taha is our correspondent.

01:23He's with us on the programme.

01:24Rawad, as I mentioned, most of these strikes by Israel have focused on South Lebanon and

01:30East Lebanon.

01:31But there was one that hit an unusual area, very much not one we associate with Hezbollah.

01:38Tell us a bit more.

01:39Indeed, in particular, we saw a great wave of airstrikes north of Litany in southern

01:45Lebanon, especially around the areas of Nabal Tiyya.

01:49However, one particular airstrike to pinpoint, which you mentioned, is an airstrike which

01:52occurred in Mount Lebanon, in particular between the two districts of Kisirwein and Byblos,

01:58very close to the coastal area as well.

02:00We're seeing footage from that airstrike in particular.

02:04This area has been hit for the first time since the start of this attrition war.

02:10Also, during the 2006 war, we haven't seen a lot of airstrikes, except those which targeted

02:15back then infrastructure and other parts of the country.

02:18Now, what is interesting is apparently that this was a unique village of its kind.

02:24It's a village situated between Kisirwein and Byblos, but yet it is a Hezbollah stronghold.

02:29So apparently Israel was trying to assassinate a commander for Hezbollah.

02:35He is the head of Hezbollah's political wing when it comes to everything that is related

02:40to Mount Lebanon and northern Lebanon.

02:43That airstrike led to the death of at least two people from within the organisation.

02:48It is unclear if the commander for Hezbollah had been assassinated or not, along with a

02:55number of other injured people and some other casualties among civilians.

03:00Rawad, let's talk about some of the political reaction to what's happening in Lebanon.

03:06The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabir Berri, a very powerful figure in Lebanon,

03:12close to Hezbollah, has been speaking to the press about his efforts to reach out to the

03:17United States to try and curb the conflict.

03:22Tell us what he said and how significant you think it is.

03:27It is very significant for two factors.

03:28First, well, he's the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament.

03:31Second, and he's Hezbollah's main ally, and he leads also half or to a certain extent

03:38of the Shia stronghold as well.

03:41So this, he is a very powerful figure who can indeed sway and bridge the gap between

03:47all the different parties.

03:50We're looking at, also he has very good connections with the United States.

03:54So key messages from Speaker Berri were that he is making serious efforts with the international

03:59parties, including the United States, seeking de-escalation.

04:03He also noted that this effort should be fruitful, possibly within the next 24 hours, and that

04:09these 24 hours are crucial in determining how things would go.

04:14Berri also said that he has been doing intensive contacts and in full coordination with the

04:20caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is already in New York and meeting with other

04:25world leaders trying to secure some sort of a de-escalation.

04:28And he expressed hope for the success of his initiative, warning that the only alternative

04:33is war and more tragedies.

04:36He also highlighted the prior efforts for de-escalation by U.S. presidential envoy Amos

04:41Hochstein, that the current initiative that Berri is working on with different parties

04:46uses that initiative as a foundation for finding a solution to the current conflict.

04:52So it is a test for time.

04:54We're seeing both sides escalating.

04:57Israel is threatening with starting its ground operation campaign.

05:01Hezbollah is indicating that it is ready to fire more rockets and missiles into Tel Aviv

05:05and central Israel, such as we've seen during the early morning hours.

05:09Yet we're seeing some sort of political pressure coming from within Lebanon, from within the

05:14parliament, from within the caretaker government, in order to try to de-escalate the situation

05:19before it is really a fully-fledged war.

05:22Rawad Taha, live in Beirut.

05:23Thanks very much.

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