Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary

A huge fireball lit up the sky and plumes of smoke rose over southern Beirut on Sunday as Israel unleashed intense air strikes targeting Hezbollah, nearly a year since the Gaza war erupted.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the international community to put pressure on Israel for a ceasefire as another strike hit the capital’s southern suburbs.

Israeli forces were on high alert ahead of Monday’s anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack, which sparked the war.