Smoke rose from Beirut’s southern suburbs Saturday morning and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes.
Attacks on alleged Hezbollah targets by fighter jets Friday continued into the early hours Saturday after the Israeli army said it told residents to evacuate several buildings it was targeting.
Explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, with flames lighting up the pre-dawn darkness. Fires raged from several locations, and smoke and flames were seen from above Beirut early Saturday.
Residents reported jets flying overhead.
In a short statement, the Israeli military described the sites it hit as belonging to Hezbollah.
Shelters set up in the city center for people displaced by the onslaught were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches, or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.
The Israeli military said a missile fired at central Israel on Saturday had struck an open area. Earlier, the military said about 10 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and that some had been intercepted.
The Israeli military also said it was striking Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley, a region of eastern Lebanon at the Syrian border that it has pounded over the last week.
On Saturday, an airstrike also hit the Lebanese mountain town of Bhamdoun, southeast of Beirut.
The strike hit a large empty lot and did not cause any casualties.
