Israel steps up its bombing campaign in Lebanon as thousands flee escalating war – National
Heavy fresh explosions rocked areas south of Beirut late Saturday as Israel stepped up its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp in the north for the first time as it targeted Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the escalating conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world to mark the first anniversary of the war in Gaza.
Heavy explosions began around midnight after Israeli forces urged residents to evacuate Beirut’s Haret Hreik, Choueifat and Burj el-Barajneh neighborhoods.
AP video showed the explosion lighting up the densely populated southern areas, where Hezbollah is strong. They followed a day of rare strikes and the constant sound of surveillance drones.
The Israeli military confirmed that the attack was aimed near Beirut and said that about 30 projectiles fell into Lebanon and into Israeli territory, some of which were intercepted.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli attack on the northern camp of Beddawi killed a Hamas military officer and his wife and two young daughters, a Palestinian militant group said. Hamas later said another member of the army was killed in Israeli strikes in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
The result showed collapsed buildings, scattered bricks and missing stairs.
Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since Israel’s war with Hamas began, in addition to several Lebanon-based Hezbollah leaders as the fighting intensified.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million displaced from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from the shared border so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed group, began firing rockets into Israel shortly after the Hamas attack on October 7, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and the Israeli army trade weapons on an almost daily basis.
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Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited operation in southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.
The war is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in the airstrikes that Israel claimed killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach an agreement to cease arms in Gaza and Lebanon.” The minister said that unnamed countries are putting forward plans that include states and others outside the Middle East.
Araghchi spoke a day after Iran’s supreme leader praised his latest attack on Israel and said he was ready to repeat it if necessary.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel has a duty and a right to defend itself and respond to this attack, and it will do so.”
In Lebanon, he said: “We are not done yet.”
Fleeing Lebanon on foot
The Israeli military earlier Saturday said about 90 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most were caught, but many fell in the northern Arab city of Deir al-Asad, where police said three people were slightly injured.
At least six people in Lebanon were killed in more than a dozen Israeli attacks overnight and Saturday, according to the National News Agency under the Lebanese government.
About 375,000 people have fled Lebanon to Syria in less than two weeks, according to a Lebanese government committee.
Associated Press reporters saw hundreds continue to cross the Masnaa Border Crossing on foot, trudging through rubble after an Israeli airstrike left huge holes in the road leading to it on Thursday. Most of Hezbollah’s weapons are believed to come from Iran via Syria.
“We have been on the road for two days,” said Issa Hilal, one of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon who have returned. “The roads were very crowded … it was very difficult. We almost died getting here.” Some children were screaming or crying.
Some displaced families are now sheltering along Beirut’s famous Corniche beach, their tents blowing in the wind just steps from luxury homes. “We don’t care if we die, but we don’t want to die at Netanyahu’s hands,” said Om Ali Mcheik.
Israel’s military said special forces were attacking Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. It said the soldiers dismantled the tunnels used by Hezbollah when approaching the Israeli border.
Some orders to get out of Gaza
An estimated 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the Ministry of Health there, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths. About 90% of Gaza’s residents have been displaced, amid widespread destruction.
Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza on Saturday killed at least nine people. One in the northern city of Beit Hanoun killed at least five people, including two children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. One hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four, Awda Hospital said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment but has long accused Hamas of operating in the occupied territories.
An Israeli airstrike killed two children in the Gaza City neighborhood of Zaytoun, according to the civil defense group working under the Hamas-run government.
The Israeli military has warned Palestinians to evacuate along the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, which has been at the heart of the ceasefire agreement. The army told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, a coastal area they designated as a humanitarian aid station.
It is not clear how many Palestinians are in those areas. Israeli forces regularly return to the Gaza Strip to target Hamas fighters as they regroup.
© 2024 The Associated Press
