Hundreds of Civilians Killed, Thousands Displaced as Raids Intensify
The Israeli military launched airstrikes on areas south of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, shortly after issuing evacuation orders on Thursday. Israel claims the strikes targeted Hezbollah strongholds, but ongoing raids have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands.
Plumes of grey smoke rose over the Ghobeiry district following a “violent” attack, as reported by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA). The strikes hit near the Rawdat al-Shahidain cemetery, an area affected by recent evacuation warnings. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, published maps marking locations deemed “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Choueifat el-Aamroussieh and Ghobeiry, which were subsequently bombed. Residents were given minimal time to evacuate before the strikes commenced.
In addition to Beirut’s southern suburbs, Israeli forces heavily bombarded the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil on Thursday. According to the NNA, several apartment blocks in the town, just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Israeli border, were destroyed by airstrikes and shelling.
A second evacuation order instructed residents of Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh, also in Beirut’s southern suburbs, to flee. Since the beginning of Israel’s Gaza operations last October, attacks on Lebanon have claimed at least 3,365 lives and injured over 14,000 people.