Israel launched airstrikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut this morning after issuing an evacuation warning for residents of a neighborhood that is a Hezbollah stronghold, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
Footage filmed by the agency shows plumes of smoke rising after three hits. Shortly before, the Israeli army called on people who are "close to Hezbollah's infrastructure and interests" in a message in Arabic on the social network "Ex" to in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, to evacuate.
The southern suburbs of Beirut, a bastion of the Iran-backed movement, have been targeted by the Israeli army for several weeks and have been largely evacuated. However, some locals are returning during the day to look after their properties and shops, AFP reports.
Overnight, the Israeli army also carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and "Hezbollah" claimed responsibility for two rocket attacks on barracks in northern Israel near the border. The Israeli army, meanwhile, announced, quoted by DPA, that it had destroyed drones sent by the Lebanese movement over the northern part of the country.
An air alert was declared in the resort of Eilat, on the Red Sea coast, after a rocket was fired from the east. However, it did not reach Israeli airspace. Iraqi militias linked to Iran claimed responsibility for the attack, DPA said.
On September 23, the Israeli army began an intensive bombing campaign, and a week later entered the southern part of the country, AFP recalls. The aim of the operation is to neutralize "Hezbollah" so that people evacuated to northern Israel can return to their homes. "Hezbollah" opened a front against Israel on October 8 last year - the day after another Iranian-backed Islamist movement, the Palestinian "Hamas", carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel, provoking the war in the Gaza Strip, AFP notes.