By Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and James Mackenzie
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A wave of air raids hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Saturday as Israel stepped up assaults on Hezbollah, after a large strike on the Iran-backed motion’s command centre that apparently focused chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Reuters witnesses heard greater than 20 airstrikes earlier than daybreak on Saturday. Abandoning their houses within the southern suburbs, hundreds of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.
“They want to destroy Dahiye, they want to destroy all of us,” mentioned Sari, a person in his 30s who gave solely his first identify, referring to the suburb he had fled after an Israeli evacuation order. Close by, the newly displaced in Beirut’s Martyrs Sq. rolled mats onto the bottom to tried to sleep.
An unprecedented 5 hours of steady strikes early on Saturday adopted Friday’s assault, by far essentially the most highly effective by Israel on Beirut throughout practically a yr of battle with Hezbollah. It marked a pointy escalation of a battle that has concerned day by day missile and rocket fireplace between the 2 sides.
The most recent escalation has sharply elevated fears the battle may spiral uncontrolled, doubtlessly drawing in Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer, in addition to the US.
There was no quick affirmation of Nasrallah’s destiny after Friday’s heavy strikes, however a supply near Hezbollah informed Reuters he was not reachable. The Lebanese armed group has not made an announcement.
Israel has not mentioned whether or not it tried to hit Nasrallah, however a senior Israeli official mentioned high Hezbollah commanders have been focused.
“I think it’s too early to say… Sometimes they hide the fact when we succeed,” the Israeli official informed reporters when requested if the strike on Friday had killed Nasrallah.
Earlier, a supply near Hezbollah informed Reuters that Nasrallah was alive. Iran’s Tasnim information company additionally reported he was protected. A senior Iranian safety official informed Reuters that Tehran was checking his standing.
The Israeli navy mentioned in an announcement that it had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit, Muhammad Ali Ismail, and his deputy Hossein Ahmed Ismail.
DEATH TOLL RISES
Hours earlier than the newest barrage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the United Nations that his nation had a proper to proceed the marketing campaign.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” he mentioned.
A number of delegations walked out as Netanyahu approached the lectern. He later reduce brief his New York journey to return to Israel.
Lebanese well being authorities confirmed six lifeless and 91 wounded within the preliminary assault on Friday – the fourth on Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs in every week and the heaviest since a 2006 battle.
The toll appeared prone to rise a lot larger. There was no phrase on casualties from the later strikes. Greater than 700 individuals have been killed in strikes over the previous week, authorities mentioned.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar tv reported seven buildings have been destroyed. Safety sources in Lebanon mentioned the goal was an space the place high Hezbollah officers are normally primarily based.
Hours later, the Israeli navy informed residents in elements of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate because it focused missile launchers and weapons storage websites it mentioned have been below civilian housing.
Hezbollah denied any weapons or arms depots have been situated in buildings that have been hit within the Beirut suburbs, the Lebanese armed group’s media workplace mentioned in an announcement.
Alaa al-Din Saeed, a resident of a neighbourhood Israel recognized as a goal, informed Reuters he was fleeing together with his spouse and three youngsters.
“We found out on the television. There was a huge commotion in the neighbourhood,” he mentioned. The household grabbed garments, identification papers and a few money however have been caught in site visitors with others making an attempt to flee.
“We’re going to the mountains. We’ll see how to spend the night – and tomorrow we’ll see what we can do.”
Round 100,000 individuals in Lebanon have been displaced this week, rising the quantity uprooted within the nation to effectively over 200,000.
Israel’s authorities has mentioned that returning some 70,000 Israeli evacuees to their houses is a battle goal.
FEAR THE FIGHTING WILL SPREAD
Hezbollah has fired tons of of rockets and missiles towards targets in Israel, together with Tel Aviv. The group mentioned it fired rockets on Friday on the northern Israeli metropolis of Safed, the place a girl was handled for minor accidents.
Israel’s air defence methods have ensured the injury has to date been minimal.
Iran, which mentioned Friday’s assault crossed “red lines”, accused Israel of utilizing U.S.-made “bunker-busting” bombs.
U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned Washington was not knowledgeable of that strike beforehand. President Joe Biden was being saved abreast of developments.
On the U.N., the place the annual Common Meeting met this week, the intensification prompted expressions of concern together with by France, which with the U.S. has proposed a 21-day ceasefire.
“This must be brought to an end immediately,” French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere informed a Safety Council assembly.
At a New York press convention, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned: “We believe the way forward is through diplomacy, not conflict… We will continue to work intentionally with all parties to urge them to choose that course.”
Hezbollah opened the newest bout in a decades-long battle with a missile barrage towards Israel instantly following the Oct. 7 assault on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza final yr.
