The latest strikes came after Israel warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a United Nations-declared buffer zone.
Israel carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight in southern suburbs of Beirut and another that cut off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
The new wave of strikes came after Israel warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a United Nations-declared buffer zone, as the yearlong conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah escalates.
Israel launched a ground incursion into Lebanon on Tuesday and its forces have been clashing with Hezbollah militants in a narrow strip along the border. A series of attacks before the incursion killed some of the group’s key members, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The blasts overnight rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, sending huge plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky and shaking buildings kilometers (miles) away in the Lebanese capital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on what the intended target was, and there was no information immediately available on casualties.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that there were more than 10 consecutive airstrikes in the area late Thursday.
