By Mohammed Al Ragawi
BEIRUT (AA) – Israeli warplanes launched a series of heavy airstrikes on Haret Hreik, a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb, early Saturday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The Israeli army issued orders to residents of buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb forcing them to evacuate immediately in preparation for targeted airstrikes that would follow shortly.
Avichay Adraee, an Israeli army spokesperson, included maps in a statement that marked buildings targeted for attack in red.
The spokesman claimed that these locations were near facilities and interests associated with Hezbollah.
“You must evacuate these buildings and neighboring ones immediately, keeping a distance of no less than 500 meters,” he added.
The latest attack comes after the Israeli army conducted four waves of airstrikes on Friday targeting Beirut’s southern suburb. The strikes allegedly hit "command centers, weapons depots, and infrastructure used for terrorist activities."
Separately, Israeli airstrikes targeted the towns of Arabsalim, Sajd, and Sa'ir al-Gharbiya in Nabatieh, while the Israeli army shelled the area around Shamaa and Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon's Tyre district, according to the National News Agency.
Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare.
More than 3,400 people have been killed, nearly 14,600 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi