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JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army Saturday issued new evacuation orders instructing residents of areas in Beirut's southern suburb to evacuate immediately, claiming that the Hezbollah group is using them.
The latest announcement is a clear threat of a new strike in Lebanon, ignoring international leaders' calls during the ongoing UN General Assembly session for Tel Aviv to halt the bloodshed.
The Israeli army's spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered residents of several buildings in the Borj El Brajneh and Hadath neighborhoods of Beirut's southern suburbs to "evacuate immediately and stay at least 500 meters away."
Earlier Friday evening, the Israeli army ordered the immediate evacuation of buildings in the Laylaki and Hadath neighborhoods.
"You are located near Hezbollah properties, and for your safety (...) you are obliged to evacuate the buildings immediately and move away," Adraee said.
Following the Israeli warning, thousands of people were seen leaving the southern suburb for other areas of Beirut, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
In an unprecedented attack since Israel’s war on Lebanon in 2006, the army has conducted more than 30 airstrikes on the southern suburb of Beirut since Friday evening, added the correspondent.
The dangerous development comes after Israeli jets conducted several heavy airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier on Friday, claiming to have targeted the main headquarters of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
According to an Anadolu correspondent in Beirut, Israeli warplanes launched 10 airstrikes on the southern suburb, which is regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold, and a large smoke plume was seen over the area later.
Shortly after the strikes, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters, which he claimed was built underneath civilian buildings.
Following the airstrike, Israeli media said the army was verifying whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was inside the targeted area.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and 76 others were injured as a result of the strikes. But Prime Minister Najib Mikati later said information indicated that there were "a large number of people."
Hezbollah is yet to comment on the attack.
Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The ministry also said that the death toll in Lebanon since last October is 1,540, in addition to more than 77,000 displaced from southern and eastern parts of the country.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of turning the Gaza conflict into a regional war.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Rania Abu Shamala