Israel strikes southern Beirut after evacuation order

Israel carried out at least 10 air strikes early on Friday on Beirut's southern suburbs, the first strikes there in nearly a week.

The attacks came after Israel issued a warning to those in the Al-Ghobeiry, Haret Hreik, and Burj Al-Barajneh areas in the capital's southern suburbs. 

Lebanon's official news agency said the strikes hit buildings in Ghobeiry and Al-Kafaat, the Sayyed Hadi Highway, and the vicinity of the Al-Mujtaba Complex at dawn on Friday. 

"The raids left massive destruction in the targeted areas, as dozens of buildings were levelled to the ground, in addition to the outbreak of fires," the National News Agency (NNA) said.

Israeli operations in Beirut have been largely concentrated in its southern suburbs, namely Dahiyah. Nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from the area, however, many remain due to lack of resources. 

The latest strikes came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US officials to discuss a ceasefire in Lebanon. The Israeli official reportedly told US envoys that Israel's ability to counter threats to its security from Lebanon and return displaced people to the north were key elements of any ceasefire deal with Lebanon. 

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah launched several barrages of rockets into Israel, killing seven people. Four Thai nationals and an Israeli farmer were killed in Metula. Two other Israeli nationals were killed by shrapnel from a rocket volley in a suburb of the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, said Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency medical organization.

A series of Israeli strikes killed six health workers in southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel also bombarded areas around the eastern city of Baalbek on Thursday for a second consecutive day after issuing evacuation notices for the entire city, the largest to date.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed over 2,800 people and displaced more than 1.5 million others since October 2023.