Beirut and south of Lebanon under Israeli strikes

Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

Southern Lebanon and the country’s capital of Beirut were targeted by Israeli strikes, which according to Israel’s military are directed against infrastructure of Hezbollah.

Videos and images posted on by social media users show the residents of Tyre – one of the biggest Lebanese cities – covered in dust as they stand around a building collapsed as a result of Israeli strike. This military actions also caused fires that raged until morning. Approximately an hour after this content surfaced, IDF reported executing a “targeted” strike in Beirut. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry 11 people have died as a result of strikes.

On Wednesday IDF issued a call to Lebanese people to evacuate the territory south of the Zahrani river, which lies around 40 km from the border with Israel, as the armed forces would act “with extreme force”.

This violates the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah which came into effect on April 17th. Both sides accused each other of violating the agreement. This may damage the efforts to end the US war against Iran, because while Iran insists that the ceasefire agreement should cover Lebanon, while Israel disagrees.

More warnings came from the IDF during the night when the majority of Lebanese were asleep, with the area to be left by civilians widening, at the moment covering 14% of Lebanon’s territory. While the strikes continue, more footage of damage appears, with the situation in Tyre looking the most dire. Despite the situation, ambulances and rescuers continue doing their job. Though they often have to stop operations because of new strikes and IDF’s warnings.

As such a large territory is covered by the IDF’s warnings (around 300 villages and towns) and continuing strikes, the humanitarian situation in southern Lebanon deteriorates quickly. Head of ICRC’S delegation to Lebanon said that tipping point is nearby. A lot of residents have nowhere to go, as existing shelters are already full.