Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb ‘completely unrecognisable’ after Israeli attacks
This would make it about five strikes just in the past few hours throughout the evening and into the early hours of the morning. The Israeli army did issue warnings that a number of buildings would be struck and they have indeed struck those buildings, as far as we know.
They said they were aiming for a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters and also a Hezbollah commander. We have no verification whether that was the case, whether they did hit them.
It is very difficult to get in and out of the suburb of Dahiyeh at the moment. I’ve seen videos coming out of there… and really, the place is in total destruction – buildings destroyed, roads destroyed. Completely unrecognisable.
We have also seen a massive explosion take place in the Baalbek region in the Bekaa Valley this evening. There was a huge fireball that went up into the night sky.
Fourth Israeli division on Lebanon border as evacuation ordered for coast
Israel has stated that it is putting a fourth division on the border between Lebanon and Israel. The Israeli army has been very quiet about how many soldiers that means.
But Israeli media has been saying that it is about 15,000 upwards. Military analysts are hazarding a guess – they’re saying at least 15,000. And many say this means they are really going to push towards more face-to-face combat with Hezbollah and try to push into that border territory.
We also know that there were evacuation orders given by the Israelis a couple of days ago along Lebanon’s coast. This will cut off about a quarter of the country’s coastline.
The Israeli army has warned residents along those beaches from the Awali River to about 60km (37 miles) south to the border to evacuate. So, again, a huge number of civilians are having to leave their homes and join 1.2 million people who are already displaced in Lebanon.
Hezbollah clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon
The Lebanese armed group said it detonated an explosive device and clashed with Israeli troops as they tried to infiltrate southern Lebanon through the town of Blida.
The claim came as Israel expanded its ground operation in Lebanon, deploying a fourth division to the south of the country.
Earlier, Hezbollah’s deputy leader said Israeli forces had not been able to advance since they launched the ground incursion into Lebanon a week ago.
