Israel-Iran latest: Explosions in Beirut after Israeli military ordered evacuation from suburbs
The blasts came after Israeli warplanes hit areas as far north as the Beddawi camp, outside the city of Tripoli
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
More explosions rocked the suburbs of Beirut after Israeli military ordered an evacuation.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says that Israeli warplanes carried out four “very violent” air raids on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
The blasts came after Israeli military issued a new evacuation order for three buildings in Dahiyeh in southern Beirut.
Civilians were told to leave the buildings “and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters.
It came after Israeli warplanes hit areas as far north as the Beddawi camp, outside the city of Tripoli, on Saturday.
The strikes killed a member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon, along with his wife and two daughters, according to the Palestinian militant group.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
Israel launches fresh strikes on Beirut as Iran’s leader vows Hezbollah and Hamas won’t back down
UAE flight delays: How is the unfolding Middle East conflict affecting international flights?
Israeli strikes on Beirut kill at least nine as military calls for more Lebanon evacuations
Girl, 9, calls for end to violence from hospital bed in Lebanon
What are Israel and Iran’s attack and defence capabilities?
Huge blast rocks southern Lebanon
Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
A series of strong explosions were reported near midnight after Israel’s military called on residents to evacuate areas in Beirut’s Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighborhoods.
‘Shame on you’ Netanyahu hits back at Macron for call for arms embargoes
“As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
“Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution.
“I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn’t ship any,” Macron told France Inter radio.
Israel will retaliate against Iran when the time is right, military spokesman says
Israel will retaliate against Iran for the missile attack launched by Tehran when the time is right, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
“The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement.
Israeli military spokespersonconfirms two Israeli airbases were hit in Iran’s Tuesday attack, says air force and bases remain fully operational
IDF say Israel must continue strikes on Hezbollah
IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi says that Israel must continue to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“We must continue exerting pressure on Hezbollah and creating additional and lasting damage to the enemy.
“Without relief and without allowing a respite for the organization,” he says in remarks provided by the IDF.
Arrests made as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in London
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday ahead of the anniversary of the 7 October attacks in Israel.
Officers have made 15 arrests so far, the Metropolitan Police said, as part of a “significant” policing operation across the capital in response to the planned protest and memorial events.
One person was arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, and there were seven arrests on suspicion of public order offences – three of which were allegedly racially aggravated.
Arrests made as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in London
Officers have made 15 arrests so far as part of a ‘significant’ operation, the Metropolitan Police said
25 people and 127 wounded in Friday strikes
Twenty five people were killed and 127 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters. Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
Lebanon's migrant workers stuck in limbo as thousands flee conflict
Migrant worker Fajima Kamara came to Lebanon three years ago from Sierra Leone, but when Israeli jets started pounding her neighbourhood with airstrikes last month, her employers left her jobless and homeless.
The 28-year-old mother-of-three had been working as a domestic helper for a Lebanese family in the eastern city of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold.
When they evacuated they told her to go and find her “fellow African sisters” in the capital, Beirut, Kamara said.
With her phone and passport still confiscated by her employers and no time to pack, Kamara left Baalbek with nothing but the clothes she was wearing and made her way among the thousands of other displaced people to Beirut, where she hoped to find somewhere to stay.
Turned away by local shelters that were taking in displaced Lebanese, she soon found herself homeless and living on the city streets.
“I slept on the street for two days. Now I have fever,” Kamara told reporters between sneezes.
Australia starts evacuating nationals from Lebanon via Cyprus
Australia started evacuating its nationals from Lebanon via Cyprus on Saturday, in the first large-scale operation to get citizens out of the country amid an Israeli onslaught on Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Some 229 people arrived on the east Mediterranean island, which lies a 40 minute flight time from Beirut, on a commercial airline chartered by Australia. A second flight is scheduled later in the day.
More evacuation flights could be expected based on demand, Australian and Cypriot officials said.
At Cyprus’s Larnaca airport, civilians of all ages transferred from the aircraft into a terminal and then escorted onto waiting coaches. Children helped themselves to red apples and water provided by Australian military staff.
“They are exhausted, exceptionally happy to be here but heartbroken because they left family behind,” said Fiona McKergow, the Australian High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Cyprus.
More and more countries are using close hubs like Cyprus to assist in evacuations from Lebanon. Israel has sharply escalated attacks on Hezbollah in recent weeks, with a barrage of airstrikes and a ground operation in the south of the country, after nearly a year of lower-level cross-border conflict waged in parallel with Israel‘s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments