In the evening on Tuesday, November 26th, 2024, at least five people, including at least one woman, were killed and 15 others injured when an alleged Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in the Barbour area of Beirut, resulting in fires and severe destruction to the housing. Fire brigade teams worked to extinguish the fire, but a number of people were reportedly trapped under the rubble. One militant was also reportedly killed.

Out of the recorded victims, four were identified. An older man, Haji Mahmoud Mohammed Sheri, was killed. For reasons outlined below Mahmoud has been recorded as a militant. Mahmoud’s brother Imad was injured. A young man, Fadl Mustafa Sabra, and an elderly woman, Haja Mahasin Jaber Safa (Umm Muhammed), were reported killed.

Social media users mourned the death of Fadl Mustafa Sabra. Facebook user Maaroub Almahba, who identified Fadl’s death, announced that “he was martyred in an airstrike that evening in the Barbour area.” A photo shared alongside the post depicts Fadl as a young man smiling toward the camera, wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. In a Facebook post, the Hadatha Municipality invited friends and family to the funeral and burial. In a photo shared alongside the post, Fadl is depicted wearing a red jumper with dark black and grey stripes. He smiles, standing shoulder to shoulder with another person who is not in the frame.

In a Facebook post, Nidal Hamada reported the death of Mahmoud Sheri, who was reportedly killed while praying “the Maghrib/dusk prayer.” Earlier that day, he had placed a victory sign in front of the rubble of his house and shop which was destroyed by bombing. Later that evening, he was killed when “the missile fell directly on the room he was in.” Nidal reported that Mahmoud’s body was “dismembered” and despite searching all the hospitals in Beirut, “did not find his body.” A photo shared alongside the post depicts Mahmoud as a man with short white hair and a white beard. Wearing black trousers and a grey jacket he stands atop piles of rubble with loose cables hanging down, he holds up his left hand in the V for victory or the peace sign. Mahmoud posted two photos from the strike to what appears to be his personal Facebook account at about 2:36 p.m. local time. By 9:52 p.m. comments on the post changed from “الحمدالله”, celebrating his safety, to “هنيئا”, congratulating him on his ‘martyrdom’.

Aya TaHan, a relative of Mahmoud’s – potentially his daughter – shared a Hezbollah martyr photo of Mahmoud. Additionally, Aya shared a video montage from Mahmoud’s life on the anniversary of his death. The montage includes clips of Mahmoud dressed in camouflage and shooting a gun. This imagery, coupled with the martyr photo, has resulted in Airwars recording Mahmoud as a militant. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Mahmoud Safa mourned the death of his mother, Mahasin Jaber Safa, who was killed in the attack. Mahmoud shared the invitation to his mother’s funeral on Facebook. Mahasin was a mother, sister, grandmother, and a widow to her late husband, Ismail Safa. Her home was allegedly targeted without prior warning.

Videos and images released on Facebook by the Fire Station profile, Les Amis des Sapeurs Pompiers de Beyrouth, depicted the fire teams attempting to put out the raging fires on the top floors of the apartment block. One video depicted the fire trucks outside the building, as the camera pans up to reveal the flames coming from the fourth floor. The orange light burns through the balconies, and the flames rage upward. Another video depicts the fire after it has been extinguished by water. Trucks begin to clear the large pieces of rubble surrounding the apartment block. In the background, a firefighter can be heard saying, “The water was too much.”

Another photo released by the Les Amis des Sapeurs Pompiers de Beyrouth Fire Brigade depicts a huge pile of rubble in a lot, which has spilled onto and destroyed a row of cars. Teams of workers are depicted clearing the wreckage; the comment read, “Completing the process of removing rubble and opening the road in the Barbour area.”

All the victims have not yet been identified. This assessment will be updated if additional information emerges.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the incident to Israeli forces.