Beirut strikes: Rescue workers search for signs of missing under rubble

One group of women was searching for a missing relative – a mother of young children who was last seen on a stretcher at the site. The Civil Defence team told the group they needed to check at every hospital in person.

“If she left here on a gurney she will be at a hospital somewhere,” a rescue worker said.

Ibtisam Mazloum, 42, was in her building nearby when the strike hit. “If they want to fight they should fight at the border,” she said, angily. “The civilians in Beirut are not part of this.”

At the site of the Nweiri strike, Musa Araf, who works for the Civil Defence, described being in his apartment on the sixth floor of the target building when the missile hit.

“I didn’t panic because of my job, I am used to it,” he said. “But my children were screaming and clinging on to me. One of my grandchildren was cut by flying glass.”