Official Lebanese media said five Israeli strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts on Saturday, four of them “very violent”, after the Israeli army warned residents to evacuate the Hezbollah bastion.
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“Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on [Beirut’s] southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Agence France-Presse correspondents in Beirut heard several explosions with footage showing plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas.
The Israeli army earlier on Saturday night announced a new call for residents to evacuate from Beirut’s southern suburbs, as it continued to target Hezbollah positions in the Lebanese capital.
“For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate the designated buildings and those adjacent to them and move away from them at least 500 metres,” said spokesman Avichay Adraee on social media, alongside satellite images highlighting areas in the Burj el-Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Chouaifat al-Amrussiya neighbourhoods.
Several explosions could be heard in south Beirut after the evacuation call, Agence France-Presse reported.
The Israeli army is continuing its attacks in Lebanon from the air and with artillery fire. According to the Lebanese state agency NNA, attacks late on Saturday were aimed at Udaissa in the southeast, where the Shiite militia Hezbollah had reported initial fighting with Israeli ground troops.