Israel bombs south of Beirut in ‘most violent night yet’

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Israel launched more than 30 air strikes at Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight on Saturday, reported Lebanese state media, which described the night as the most violent since fighting broke out two weeks ago.
The attacks were heard across Beirut, covering the city in black smoke and sending fireballs into the air as buildings shook. The strikes hit neighbourhoods including Dahieh, Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry and the road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport. Lebanese authorities said a warehouse storing medical supplies was hit on the airport road along with a fuel station.
The Israeli army issued more displacement orders for residents of the area, many of whom had fled earlier attacks. Large explosions were heard across the suburbs around midnight as people were ordered out of several neighbourhoods, including Haret Hreik, Choueifat and Burj Al Barajneh.
In the Sabra area, located near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments yet seen in the conflict.
Israel’s military said it was bombing near Beirut. It also said about 30 missiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israel, with some intercepted.
More than 2,000 people have been killed and 1.2 million people displaced by Israeli attacks on Lebanon since cross-border fighting began on October 8 last year. The majority have been displaced in the past month, after the Israeli army intensified aerial attacks across the country and launched a ground invasion. Most of the 900 government-run shelters across Lebanon are full, the UN said on Saturday, with many people forced to sleep in parks, on benches and on the beach.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the attacks, saying on Saturday: “We are not done yet.”
“Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.”
The Israeli leader criticised Emmanuel Macron after the French President called for halting arms sales to Israel if the hardware is used in Gaza. Speaking at a summit on Saturday, Mr Macron said a ceasefire is “necessary in Gaza, as in Lebanon”.
“We can’t demand a ceasefire while also sending weapons,” he said. “That’s just consistency.”
The latest violence comes as the war in Gaza nears its first anniversary and air strikes continue on the enclave.
At least 21 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a mosque sheltering displaced Palestinians in Deir Al Balah on Sunday morning, according to the official Wafa news agency. Several children were among the dead, with the toll expected to rise. Dozens of people were wounded, some severely, and were taken to the nearby Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Medical sources at the facility said the hospital, suffering from a severe lack of supplies, was struggling to treat the injured.