Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut destroys targeted building, damages nearby houses

Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a building in the Hadath area of Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday evening, completely destroying one building and damaging nearby houses.

During a visit to the area on Monday morning, a China Media Group (CMG) correspondent saw that the targeted building has been completely destroyed, and some nearby shops and houses had also been damaged in the airstrike.

This marks the third time the southern suburbs of Beirut have been struck since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect last November.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes launched three missiles, destroying a hangar and causing damage to nearby buildings and vehicles. No casualties from the strike have been reported yet.

The "powerful strike" targeted "infrastructure where Hezbollah had stored precision missiles," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.

The missiles posed a "significant threat" to Israel's security, according to the Israeli leaders.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike, saying that the United States and France, as guarantors of the cessation of hostilities agreement, must assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately cease its attacks.

Israel's continued undermining of stability will exacerbate tensions and expose the region to real dangers that threaten its security and stability, he warned, adding that the frequent Israeli attacks on Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable under any pretext.

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement condemning the Israeli strike, saying that the Lebanese government will work to comply with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and push for the early withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.

Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut destroys targeted building, damages nearby houses

Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut destroys targeted building, damages nearby houses

Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut destroys targeted building, damages nearby houses

China is committed to expanding its investment in Africa by further promoting corporate cooperation in various fields, according to a commerce official.

At a press conference on Wednesday in Beijing, Shen Xiang, director of the West Asia and Africa Department under the Ministry of Commerce, briefed the press on the current landscape of Chinese investment in Africa.

"African countries have seen steady economic development in recent years, with the overall business environment continuing to improve and the willingness of Chinese firms to invest in the continent significantly growing. Our data reveals that over the past five years, annual average direct investments from Chinese companies in Africa have consistently exceeded 3 billion U.S. dollars, with investment projects spanning a wide range of sectors. In addition, the entities involved in China's investments in Africa have become increasingly varied," he said.

Shen also noted that the ministry will further enhance the investment by fostering cooperation, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

"The Ministry of Commerce will encourage Chinese companies to coordinate the construction of various industrial parks, logistics facilities, power and energy projects tailored to the resource endowments and industrial development plans of African countries, and promote the integrated development of investment and trade. It will continue to motivate enterprises from both sides to seize the opportunity of China's expanded opening up and achieve greater investment cooperation," said Shen.

"The ministry will also actively facilitate partnerships between SMEs between China and African countries, organize SMEs matching activities, support young entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs from both regions to carry out innovation and entrepreneurship cooperation, so as to create broader avenues for cooperation among SMEs," he said.

China to expand investment in Africa by promoting corporate cooperation in various fields: official