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Explosion rocks central Beirut as Israel strikes luxury hotel
An Israeli drone attack on the Ramada Plaza hotel in Beirut's Raouche district early Sunday killed four people and injured 10, marking the first strike in the city's bustling center since hostilities with Hezbollah reignited.
Targeted operatives or diplomats?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the strike eliminated five members of Iran's Quds Force, including a senior financier and intelligence commanders. The IDF described the operation as a "significant blow" to Iran's presence in Lebanon and its proxy Hezbollah.
Iran's UN mission countered late Tuesday, identifying the victims as diplomats-including a second secretary and an attaché-and condemning the attack as a "terrorist assassination" violating international law. Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had previously demanded the arrest of Iranian Revolutionary Guards engaged in military activities.
"The targeting of four Iranian diplomats on sovereign Lebanese soil is a heinous crime and a flagrant breach of international law," Iran's UN representative Amir-Saeid Iravani wrote in a letter to the UN secretary-general.
Civilian toll and displaced fears
Lebanon's health ministry reported four deaths and 10 injuries, though identities remained unconfirmed. Witnesses described chaos as Ramadan crowds scattered, and shrapnel injured bystanders, including a Syrian refugee whose leg was pierced by debris.
Raouche, typically a tourist hub, now shelters hundreds displaced by Israeli evacuation orders. A barber who fled southern Lebanon called the strike proof that "no place is safe," while a 23-year-old man whose homes in the south and Beirut's Dahieh suburb were destroyed said, "The war is expanding."
"We expected this anywhere but Raouche. Thank God it was my leg, not somewhere else," said Mousa Khodour, a Syrian national injured in the blast.
Escalation amid warnings
The IDF said the strike, executed by its navy, followed "precise intelligence" that Quds Force commanders were hiding in the hotel. It named three killed operatives-Majid Hassani, Alireza Bi-Azar, and Ahmad Rasouli-and warned Iranian representatives to leave Lebanon.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters over 150 Iranian nationals, including diplomats, had already departed. Iran's UN mission said the victims relocated to the Ramada after Israeli threats and notified Lebanese authorities.
Aftermath and unease
Hotel staff confirmed police sealed the third and fourth floors, where Lebanese nationals had booked rooms used by the targeted men. The IDF said two of three munitions failed to detonate. Despite shattered windows and blackened walls, Raouche's streets saw an uneasy return to routine, with onlookers glancing at the damage as they passed.
"Israel has no red lines-they strike wherever they want," said displaced barber Mohamed Abbas, who fled southern Lebanon days earlier.
