Explosions seen near Beirut airport as Israel issues evacuation orders

Huge explosions were seen near Beirut airport last night and early this morning after Israel issued fresh evacuation orders. Reports from the Lebanese capital said an area just outside the airport has been hit. The attacks are thought to have been launched by the IDF, which earlier ordered the evacuation of villages and towns in southern Lebanon that are north of a United Nations-declared buffer zone established after the 2006 war.

Israel told people to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and other communities north of the Litani River, which formed the northern edge of the border zone established by the UN Security Council after the 2006 war in a resolution that both sides accuse the other of violating. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authorities claimed at least 16 were killed in an Israeli air strike on the Tulkarm refugee camp. Meanwhile, leaders of the G7 outlined their concern over the ‘deteriorating situation’ in the Middle East and warned of ‘uncontrollable escalation’.

At least nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. Meanwhile, the region is bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack. The World Health Organization reported that 28 health workers were killed in the past day in Lebanon, and access to medical care is becoming limited as three dozen health facilities closed in the south and five hospitals were either partly or fully evacuated in Beirut.

The Lebanese health minister said Israeli strikes that hit nine hospitals and 45 health care centers violate international law and treaties. ‘International laws are clear in protecting these people – I mean, paramedics,’ Firas Abiad said. ‘Who gave Israel the right to be the judge and the executioner at the same time?’ The Lebanese Red Cross said an Israeli strike wounded four of its paramedics and killed a Lebanese army soldier as they were evacuating wounded people from the south. It said the convoy near the village of Taybeh, which was accompanied by Lebanese troops, was targeted Thursday despite coordinating its movements with U.N. peacekeepers. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Another Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli fire at an army post in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, according to the Lebanese military, which said it returned fire. A Lebanese security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to regulations, said the army post was hit by artillery fire. An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut late Wednesday killed nine people, including seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the militant group has a strong presence since late September, but has rarely struck in the heart of the capital.

There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment not far from the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament. Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the strike in Beirut, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency – without providing evidence – accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, which can cause severe burns and could violate international law. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army said it has shells containing white phosphorous that do not violate international law, but it did not say if they were used in the attack. Army officials said the primary shells they use to create a smokescreen do not contain the substance. Palestinian Health Ministry says 18 killed by Israeli strike in West Bank The Palestinian Health Ministry said 18 people were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank. It was the deadliest strike in the occupied territory since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October.

The Israeli army said the strike killed Hamas’ leader in Tulkarem. Hamas condemned the strike but did not confirm if any of its members were killed. The military said the strike was carried out in coordination with the Shin Bet internal security service, but it gave no details on the target. Tulkarem is a militant stronghold in the northern West Bank. It remained unclear how many people were wounded in the blast. Violence has flared across the Israeli-occupied territory since the Israeli-Hamas war erupted last October. Tulkarem and other northern Palestinian cities have seen some of the worst violence. Palestinian militant groups are active across the northern West Bank, areas where the Palestinian Authority has a limited foothold.

The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts. It said the strikes killed at least 15 Hezbollah fighters. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. But if the claim is true, it would mark the latest in a string of assassinations of top Hezbollah officials in recent weeks, including its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Strikes continued late Thursday night when a series of massive blasts rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs. It was not immediately clear what was targeted or if there were casualties. The Israeli military also said Thursday that it had killed a senior Hezbollah militant, Mohammed Anisi, who was involved in the group’s development of precision guided missiles. Anisi was killed in an airstrike targeting the group’s intelligence branch in Beirut, the army said.

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