Amid ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, a missile strike on a residential building in Beirut was captured live by Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein gone viral across various social media platforms.
In the viral videos, several men can be seen watching the strike in Lebanon's capital from a distance, standing by their cars as the building crumbles like a house of cards. Others drive their motorbikes away from the scene. The impact of the missile attack was so disastrous that it caused the entire residential building to collapse instantly within a few seconds.
The stunning moment followed about 40 minutes after an Israeli warning on a social media post in Arabic alerting residents in and around two buildings— reportedly located in the Tayouneh neighbourhood, next to Horsh Beirut (a city park)—to leave the area as the apartment was in “its sights”.
The Associated Press photographer—who was positioned behind a large tree, after the Israeli warning—documented the trail of destruction — second by second, frame by frame.
“I heard the sound of the missile whistling, headed toward the building and then I started filming,” AP quoted its photographer Hussein as saying, hours after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched the attack.
Minutes before the bomb brought down the building, two smaller projectiles were fired at the roof in what Israel’s military often refers to as warning strikes, according to AP journalists at the scene.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage around the world. Local authorities and emergency services were immediately dispatched to the scene to assess the damage and provide assistance to any affected individuals.
Media reports said after the Israeli warning, several people fled the busy, densely populated neighbourhood. By the time of the Israeli attack, the building was evacuated, and there were no reports of casualties.
