By Zein Khalil
BEIRUT (AA) — The Israeli army issued evacuation orders Saturday to residents of several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, instructing them to evacuate ahead of planned strikes.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued the “urgent warning” on X, specifically to residents in a building in the Haret Hreik neighborhood.
The warning included two maps showing buildings the army intended to target.
The army claimed that the buildings were located near facilities of the Hezbollah group and that they were likely to soon be hit, urging residents to “immediately evacuate the buildings and move at least 500 meters away.”
In two separate statements, the Israeli army spokesperson warned of the immediate evacuation of the two buildings, one in Burj al-Barajneh and the other in Choueifat in Beirut's southern suburb, marking the third warning within an hour.
While cross-border warfare between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has continued since the Gaza war began in October last year, Israel escalated its offensive in Lebanon late last month, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and many other commanders.
The extensive airstrikes, followed by a ground invasion, have claimed more than 1,500 lives and displaced around 1.3 million people.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala