Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s Beirut trigger mass evacuation amid Hezbollah tensions
Updated ,first published
Beirut: Thousands of families fled their homes in Lebanon after Israeli forces warned of a wave of bombings targeting Hezbollah groups.
The warning created panic in the Dahiyeh district in southern Beirut; As people moved north to escape attacks, highways became clogged and shelters were overloaded as they sought shelter.
Hours later, air strikes were heard in Beirut, and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the fighting would make the southern parts of the city look like another Gaza Strip.
The war against Iran spilled into Lebanon on Monday, when Hezbollah members launched rocket and drone attacks on Israel in a show of support for the Iranian regime, and then continued the attacks on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces sent troops to Lebanon on Tuesday to take control of the border while also carrying out airstrikes.
Thursday’s mass evacuation and subsequent airstrikes sharply escalated conflict in Lebanon amid political tensions over Hezbollah and growing fears of a long war.
While the air strikes were continuing, French President Emmanuel said on the X channel that he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese leaders to stop the conflict and that France would help the Lebanese government to control Hezbollah.
Most of the families seeking safety in Martyrs’ Square in the historical center of Beirut, not knowing whether or when they would be able to return to their homes, chose to sleep in the square.
A group of Syrian women walked from the Dahiye district and sat with their children near the Al Amin Mosque.
“It took four or five hours to walk here because of the little kids,” Najah, a 27-year-old mother of five, said while speaking to people in the square.
Another member of the group, 25-year-old Hacer, said that they were neighbors who walked together as soon as they heard Israel’s alarm and realized that they had no means of transportation.
Although Dahiyeh is a largely Shiite area, those who fled include Sunni Muslims such as 42-year-old mechanic Rizk Hamza, who was in Martyrs’ Square with his wife and four children.
In this article, he said, “There is no difference between what happened to us and what happened in Gaza.”
“This is the result of the brutal attacks carried out in Gaza and now here.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning at 2.50pm (11.50pm, AEDT) on Thursday to tell people to leave the area, and messages on social media gave people maps showing where to head north.
“Save your lives, evacuate your homes immediately,” he shared on X.
It was reported that the Israeli attack was announced on social media at 21.16 Beirut time, and was followed by a series of explosions in the southern part of the city in the following hours.
Motrich, the finance minister and a far-right member of the Israeli government, released a video statement talking about the destruction of the Dahiyeh district to resemble Khan Younis, a part of Gaza where buildings have been reduced to rubble.
“You wanted to bring hell to us, and we are bringing hell to you,” he said in the video taken from the north of Israel, near the Lebanese border.
The chaos in Lebanon came as central parts of Israel came under attack by Iran, with Israeli forces saying missile fragments and fragments of cluster bomb warheads had fallen in some areas.
Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel have surprised some of its allies and deepened concerns in Lebanon about the group’s tactics and the threat to civilian populations if Israel strikes back.
Reuters reported this week that Hezbollah attacks have strained the group’s ties with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite politician who has been aligned with the group for many years.
Berri thought that Hezbollah had “deceived” him because he hoped that it would not attack. Reuters reportedReference was made to four political figures who spoke on condition that their names not be mentioned.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Monday that the government would ban Hezbollah’s military activities because of the attacks, but the group had supporters within the government who rejected the move.
Macron spoke to leaders in Lebanon on Thursday and announced that the Lebanese government was preparing to take control of Hezbollah-held positions.
“Hezbollah must immediately stop its fire on Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground operations or large-scale actions on Lebanese territory,” he said.
Macron said France would send operational and logistical assistance, as well as armored transport vehicles, to Lebanon to assist the government, and also outlined plans to send medicine and other humanitarian aid.
“At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli Prime Minister not to extend the war to Lebanon,” he said.
“I also call on the Iranian leadership not to further involve Lebanon in a war that does not belong to it.
“Hezbollah must lay down its weapons, respect national interests, prove that it is not a militia acting on behalf of foreign entities, and allow the Lebanese to unite to defend their country.”
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
