New attacks hit southern Beirut following Israeli evacuation calls

At least 10 attacks hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Friday after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of buildings in the Hezbollah stronghold.

The attacks come a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met visiting US officials to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Lebanon, with the death toll rising on both sides of the border.

AFPTV footage showed explosions followed by clouds of smoke unfolding in the suburbs.

“The raids caused massive destruction in the targeted areas as dozens of buildings were razed to the ground, in addition to outbreaks of fires,” the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said.

The attacks targeted the suburban areas of Ghobeiry and Al-Kafaat, the Sayyed Hadi Highway, the area surrounding the Al-Mujtaba Complex and the old airport road, it added.

The Israeli army has repeatedly bombed south Beirut in recent weeks, while also carrying out deadly attacks elsewhere in the capital and across Lebanon.

– Armistice Talks –

During talks on Thursday, Israeli leader Netanyahu told US envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk that any deal with Lebanon must guarantee Israel’s longer-term security.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also met separately with the Americans, saying in a statement that their discussions focused on “security measures as they relate to the Northern Arena and Lebanon, and efforts to ensure the return of 101 hostages who continue to be held by Hamas in Gaza.”

According to Israeli media reports citing government sources, the US-brokered plan would see Hezbollah forces withdraw about 30 kilometers from the border, north of the Litani River.

Israeli troops would withdraw from Lebanon and the Lebanese army would then take over the border, together with UN peacekeepers.

Lebanon would be responsible for preventing Hezbollah from rearming with imported weapons, and Israel would retain its right under international law to act in self-defense.

Analysts say Israel’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has put it in a strong position to reach a deal.

– Growing death toll –

Also on Thursday, Israeli medics and a local leader reported that seven Israelis had been killed by cross-border fire from Lebanon – one of the highest daily tolls in Israel in more than a year of cross-border exchanges.

Four Thais were also killed in the northern Israeli city of Metula by rocket fire from Lebanon on Thursday, according to the Thai Foreign Minister.

The regional council in Metula had said a local farmer and four foreign farm workers had been killed in the strike.

Since fighting in Lebanon escalated on September 23, following cross-border exchanges that Hezbollah says were in support of Hamas, the war in Lebanon has killed at least 1,829 people, according to AFP Health Ministry figures.

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said on Thursday that the war has caused the death of at least one child a day and injured an average of 10 children a day since October 4.

The Israeli military says 37 soldiers have been killed in Lebanon since ground operations began on September 30.

The NNA said the Israeli army carried out attacks on eastern Lebanon’s main town of Baalbek on Thursday, two hours after issuing an evacuation order. The operation reportedly killed six people and destroyed several houses and buildings.

The NNA said six others were also killed in attacks on the town of Maqna, which was not included in Israel’s evacuation order.

– Gaza talks –

Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem – who took control after Israel killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah – has not explicitly linked a ceasefire in Lebanon to an end to fighting in Gaza, the group’s previous position.

“If the Israelis decide they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept it, but under the conditions we deem appropriate and appropriate,” he said in his first speech since taking power on Tuesday.

American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have long been trying to broker a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages and prisoners in Israel’s war in Gaza.

Mediators seeking a ceasefire are expected to propose a ceasefire of “less than a month” to the Palestinian group Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks has told AFP.

The proposal includes exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and increasing aid to the area, the source added.

But on Thursday, Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, reiterated that the group rejected a short-term pause.

“Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Nunu said.

Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year sparked the war and resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory bombings and ground war have killed 43,204 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Health Ministry data, figures the United Nations considers reliable.