Israel Pounds Central Beirut, Suburbs after Major Evacuation Warnings

A damaged building is pictured through the wreckage of a vehicle, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin
A damaged building is pictured through the wreckage of a vehicle, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin
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Israel Pounds Central Beirut, Suburbs after Major Evacuation Warnings

A damaged building is pictured through the wreckage of a vehicle, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin
A damaged building is pictured through the wreckage of a vehicle, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin

Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon's health ministry said in a preliminary toll.

Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.

As the strikes were under way, Israel's military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a "widespread attack" on Hezbollah targets across the city.

The Israeli military said it was currently striking Hezbollah in the Beirut area saying: "You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, against which the Israel Forces will act in the near future," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X including a map of the targeted areas.

The army in a statement minutes later said it "is currently conducting strikes on Hezbollah terror targets in the area of Beirut" but did not provide more details.



G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Foreign Ministers from the G7 democracies on Tuesday upped the pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

In a draft statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Italy, the G7 ministers urged Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians, and condemned increasing settler violence in the West Bank, Reuters reported.

The ministers also condemned recent attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and expressed their support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying it plays a "vital role."