 "Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. Image-Reuters")
Israel on Wednesday made fresh announcements calling people in over two dozen villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities or their weapons, puts themselves at risk,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X.
It added that any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes is an Israeli target and therefore people residing in them should leave.
The Israeli military has advised citizens to move north of Lebanon as “any movement south could endanger your life.”
At least five Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Wednesday, a Lebanese security source said, as the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah sites and issued several evacuation orders.
“At least five Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the source said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it was “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut”.
Israel has repeatedly bombarded Beirut’s southern suburbs since last week, a densely-populated Hezbollah bastion where Israel says it is targeting sites belonging to the group.
‘Risk dying from the cold’
The barrage of attacks has forced the Lebanese to move to the cramped evacuation centres that are barely managing to hold more people.
Quick Reads
View All“We were forced to leave our villages and homes and come to Beirut, but there are no available houses or schools, all are overcrowded,” a man told BBC.
He added that surviving Israeli bombs gives little respite to people as they risk dying of extreme cold and diseases.
“We can’t afford medicine should we fall ill. Many suffer on the streets,” the man said.
Another resident described his plight saying, “We left everything behind and arrived here with no clothes or resources.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Makati has said that more than a million people have been displaced across the country since Israel began its air strikes last month.
Calling the ongoing situation “one of the most dangerous phases” in Lebanon’s history, Makati called for more aid to assist displaced people in the country.
With inputs from AFP