Israeli air strikes pound Beirut suburb, Hezbollah warns Israelis
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People with belongings ride on a vehicle, after the Israeli army's warning prompted residents to evacuate Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIRUT/JERUSALEM – Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut overnight after ordering its residents to leave, while the Iran-backed group warned Israelis to leave towns and villages at the frontier.
Explosions and flashes lit up the night sky over the Beirut southern suburbs, Reuters footage showed. The Israeli military said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes overnight in the southern suburbs, saying targets included Hezbollah’s command centres and weapons storage facilities.
On March 5, an Israeli military spokesperson told residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of the capital he said they must leave, including areas adjacent to Beirut airport.
Hezbollah, in a message published in Hebrew on its Telegram channel early on March 6, warned Israelis to leave towns within 5km of the border.
“Your military’s aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,” Hezbollah said.
During fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in 2024, tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns in the border area but many have since returned. Israeli officials have previously said there are no plans to remove them for now.
Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on March 2 , when Hezbollah opened fire, igniting a new Israeli offensive, with airstrikes focused on Beirut’s southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israel has also ordered Lebanese to leave large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Lebanese health ministry has reported 123 people have been killed and another 683 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks this week. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
There have been no reported fatalities in Israel as a result of Hezbollah attacks.
Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, was badly weakened by Israel during the 2024 war.
People displaced from the southern suburbs of Beirut gather at Martyrs’ Square in Lebanon on March 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Lebanon’s death toll increases to 102
Nearly all outgoing and incoming flights to Beirut airport, which is adjacent to the zone identified by the Israeli military, were cancelled for March 5 evening and March 6.
Some residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs told Reuters they had received calls from European numbers playing a recorded message from someone identifying themselves as a member of the Israeli military and telling them to leave their homes.
Beirut’s predominantly Shi’ite Muslim southern suburbs are among the capital’s most densely populated areas. The area was pounded by Israeli airstrikes during a war with Hezbollah in 2024 and during a previous war with Israel in 2006.
Israeli bombardment and warnings have already forced tens of thousands of Lebanese to flee homes in the southern suburbs and the south this week.
The Lebanese health ministry said 102 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said on March 5 that seven children had been killed.
There have been no reports of fatalities in Israel as a result of Hezbollah attacks. REUTERS
