Belgian Minister Survives Israel’s Beirut Airstrikes

In Beirut, Lebanon, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot narrowly escaped injury when massive Israeli airstrikes landed just hundreds of meters from his delegation at the embassy. Prevot had arrived in the capital to express solidarity with affected families and support Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s recent offer to begin formal ceasefire negotiations. Instead, he witnessed one of the conflict’s heaviest bombardments, which struck without warning and killed 254 people across the country. Condemning the overwhelming civilian casualties on social media, the shaken minister declared that the violence “must stop.” He urgently appealed for the international community to ensure Lebanon is included in the recently established ceasefire agreement between the United States, Israel, and Iran.