Israeli army issues evacuation orders to residents of Beirut suburbs

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army issued evacuation orders late Thursday to residents of several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, instructing them to evacuate ahead of planned strikes.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued an “urgent warning” on X specifically to residents of the Bourj el-Barajneh neighborhood.

The warning included two maps showing the buildings the army intended to target.

The army claimed the buildings are located near facilities of the Hezbollah group and that they would likely be hit soon, urging residents to “immediately evacuate the buildings and move at least 500 meters away.”

Since Israel began its ground incursion into Lebanon in early October, the Israeli army has repeatedly warned residents of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate certain buildings, citing the presence of Hezbollah weapons depots.

Following the evacuation orders, Israeli warplanes carried out intense airstrikes on the southern suburbs, with two strikes occurring half an hour before midnight, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

Earlier in the day, Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and areas of Mount Lebanon Governorate.

Israeli aircraft bombed several areas in the southern suburbs, including the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood and an apartment in the Chiyah area.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets targeted the Wadi al-Saluki and Wadi Al Hijar valleys as well as the towns of Kfarkela, Khiyam and Taybeh in Marjayoun district.

The strike on the town of Taybeh injured five Lebanese Red Cross members while they were on a rescue mission, while an attack on the town of Chaqra caused several injuries, though the Lebanese agency did not specify the number.

Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 on what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have so far killed more than 1,100 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The aerial campaign was an escalation in a yearlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 41,800 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year.

At least 1,974 people have since been killed, over 9,384 injured and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio