Israel strikes hits south Beirut after military evacuation order

Displaced children draw at a school-turned shelter in Beirut, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Strikes hit south Beirut on Wednesday (October 16, 2024), an AFP journalist saw, less than an hour after the Israeli military ordered residents to leave part of the Lebanese capital.

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Black smoke billowed from between buildings in Haret Hreik after the first strike, which followed Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee telling people to leave the area.

Moments later an AFP journalist witnessed a second strike in south Beirut.

“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, which the IDF (Israeli military) will work against in the near future” Adraee wrote in Arabic on X before the strikes, addressing Haret Hreik residents.

The Israeli military has repeatedly bombarded south Beirut in recent weeks, as well as carrying out deadly strikes elsewhere in the capital and across Lebanon.

At least 1,356 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated its bombing last month, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.