Airstrikes hit southern Beirut after Israeli military warning
Thick smoke billows over buildings following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP Photo)
Airstrikes struck southern Beirut on Saturday, shortly after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning for residents of two buildings to evacuate. Television footage showed a large plume of smoke rising over the city following the strikes.
IDF issues evacuation warning
Earlier in the day, the IDF warned residents of two buildings in the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Beirut, urging them to evacuate immediately. The IDF claimed the buildings were located near Hezbollah facilities but did not confirm whether these specific buildings were the targets of the airstrikes.
“For your safety and the safety of your family, you must evacuate these buildings and those nearby immediately and move at least 500 meters away from them,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson said on social media platform X.
Airstrikes follow widespread evacuations
This is the latest escalation in Israeli military operations in Lebanon. On Friday, residents of 23 villages in southern Lebanon were told to evacuate and move north, following earlier IDF warnings. A United Nations report earlier this week indicated that about a fifth of Lebanon’s population has fled their homes, with roughly a quarter of the country under evacuation orders.
Dahiyeh targeted
The strikes occurred near Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut that is a well-known Hezbollah stronghold. Lebanese media reported that the airstrikes hit the Haret Hreik area. Although Israel has not formally confirmed the strike, it came roughly 45 minutes after the IDF issued its evacuation warnings.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee announced on his social media account that Israel would target and attack two buildings in the Dahiyeh area south of Beirut.
Minutes after the spokesperson’s warning, powerful explosions occurred in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold south of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
In a second post, Adraee targeted another building in the Dahiyeh area south of Beirut.
The Israeli military has called on Lebanese civilians in the vicinity of Hezbollah sites to distance themselves by at least 500 meters as tensions in the region escalate.
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