A video of a Beirut building collapsing in a matter of seconds after an Israeli strike has surfaced on social media. The footage captures the very moment an Israeli missile completely flattens a building in southern Beirut.
“The building stood in a heavily trafficked area across the street from a large park, which has become a refuge for many displaced families from across Lebanon,” the Associated Press (AP) wrote while posting the video.
The footage opens to show an unassuming neighbourhood with several buildings. Suddenly, a building collapses, leaving a plume of smoke. The video further captures the strike on the building from a different angle. The sound of the crashing structure makes the scene even more harrowing.
According to the Guardian, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the building was struck as it contained “Hezbollah facilities”. In addition to targeting the building, which was located in a heavily trafficked area, Israel also targeted a location near Rafik Hariri University Hospital.
“I heard the sound of the missile whistling, headed toward the building and then I started filming,” a photojournalist told Al Jazeera, who also captured visuals of the strike.
Reportedly, about 40 minutes ahead of the strike, a military spokesperson of Israel posted a warning on social media in Arabic. It notified people residing in and around a pair of buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate.
The warning caused people to flee for safety, and only a few people, including some journalists, kept an eye on the area. No casualties were reported after the strike.
According to an AP journalist at the scene, two smaller projectiles were fired at the roof after the missile brought down the building. Reportedly, it is a practice, often referred to as warning strikes, that Israel follows in strikes in the Gaza Strip.