BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 6 — 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 southern suburbs of Beirut, 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 Thursday, an Israeli military spokesman 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 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," it said in a message published in Hebrew on its Telegram channel early on Friday.
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 Monday, 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 the 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.
