Beirut photographer puts himself in the firing line to capture Israeli strikes

Fadel Itani is no stranger to Israeli strikes in his hometown.

The 39-year-old photographer from Beirut captured a stunning sequence of images in the early hours of Wednesday, showing an Israeli missile demolishing a tower block in one fell swoop.

Itani, a freelance photographer with more than 16 years experience, told NBC News that he learned about the incoming strike from an alert sent by the Israel Defense Forces.

Fadel Itani.Courtesy of Fadel Itani

It warned residents to evacuate the Bashoura neighborhood in Lebanon’s capital where it said the Iran-backed militant group, Hezbollah, was operating.

“For the last two weeks, bombs have been dropping on Beirut,” he said, speaking from his home Wednesday.

While others fled the incoming strike, Itani headed in the opposite direction.

Hopping onto his motorbike, he made the short journey from his family home and positioned himself behind a parking lot some 400 yards away from the site the