The far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich today threatened the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, which are a bastion of the pro-Iranian Shiite movement "Hezbollah", with destruction like that in the Gaza Strip, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"Very soon Dahiyeh (the southern suburb of Beirut, note: AFP) will look like Khan Younis", Smotrich said on the communication application "Telegram", referring to the large city in the southern Gaza Strip that was devastated in the war that began with the attack by "Hamas" against Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli army, which is fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, today called on residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate "immediately" in order to survive.
Israeli forces, which together with the United States attacked Iran on Saturday, began a massive bombardment of Lebanon on Sunday night, hitting Hezbollah targets and positions. The Lebanese Shiite movement opened fire on Israel to "avenge" the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike in Tehran.
"Hezbollah" made a mistake for which it will pay dearly. We are hitting the head of the octopus in Iran and at the same time we will cut off its tentacle, "Hezbollah". You wanted to bring hell on us, but you brought it on yourselves," Smotrich said.
The Israeli army called earlier today on residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut, one of the strongholds of the pro-Iranian group "Hezbollah", where hundreds of thousands of people live, to evacuate immediately, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Urgent warning to residents" of the southern suburbs: "Save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately", Israeli army spokesman in Arabic, Colonel Avihai Adraeh, told "Ex", offering the population routes to move north and east.
"It is forbidden to move south. Any movement south could endanger your life," the spokesman added.
Residents of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut are evacuating in panic this afternoon after the Israeli army called for the evacuation of the entire area, AFP journalists found.
Shortly after the Israeli warning to residents to evacuate as quickly as possible from the southern suburbs, intense gunfire was heard there. Huge traffic jams formed on the outskirts of the southern suburbs, according to Agence France-Presse.