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Israeli Forces Intensify Airstrikes in Southern Beirut Amid Evacuations and Growing Tensions
The Israeli military issued fresh evacuation warnings today, Tuesday, to residents in several areas of southern Beirut, preparing for airstrikes that subsequently hit the region with four bombardments.
According to a correspondent for "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath," the Israeli attacks commenced just one hour after the warnings, targeting neighborhoods including Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, and Hadath. The report suggested that the strike on the Hadath area likely affected the well-known Haret Hreik.
The southern suburbs typically see a decline in population at night, but during the day they become crowded, likely with displaced individuals returning to retrieve some belongings. The area experienced significant displacement following the latest strikes today.
This escalation followed a warning from the Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, who posted on X that all residents in the southern suburbs, particularly in specified buildings on attached maps and surrounding structures in the Hadath area, were urged to evacuate.
He also shared maps and images, claiming that these locations were near facilities and interests associated with Hezbollah.
These developments took place as the towns of Naqoura, Jabal Louban, and the outskirts of Al-Ma’shar were subjected to artillery shelling from Israeli naval vessels early in the morning, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Furthermore, all combat fronts in the southern border region ignited with Israeli bombardments, marking the first such attacks in two weeks, impacting sectors in the eastern, central, and western parts of the border area.
The renewed airstrikes follow a brief period of calm, which was preceded by the booby-trapping and demolition of various facilities and buildings. The correspondent for "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath" also reported injuries resulting from drone attacks in the Burka neighborhood of Sidon in southern Lebanon.
In a related announcement, Hezbollah stated on Monday that it had conducted 22 operations against Israel.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the death toll has exceeded 3,200 since October 8, 2023. Sources from "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath" confirmed that a drone had infiltrated from Lebanon toward Nahariya and its surrounding areas, with air raid sirens sounded in the suburbs of Haifa as a precaution against drone incursions.
These developments unfold amidst ongoing international and American efforts to halt the conflict. Nevertheless, new Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reaffirmed that there would be no ceasefire or truce in Lebanon, emphasizing in a tweet today that Israeli forces "will continue to strike Hezbollah with full force until the war's objectives are achieved."
