Israel issues forced evacuation order for Hadath district of Beirut

Israel’s military has issued a forced evacuation order to residents of Hadath in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with army spokesperson Avichay Adraee sharing a map of the area in a post on X.

“To everyone present in the building marked in red as shown on the map and the buildings adjacent to it: You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah,” Adraee said.

“For your safety and the safety of your families, you are obliged to evacuate these buildings immediately and stay away from them at a distance of no less than 300 metres, as shown on the map.”

While Israel has regularly struck targets in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, this is the first such order in Beirut since a ceasefire agreement that halted the war between Hezbollah and Israel in November.

Residents in Beirut firing into the air as a warning before Israeli attack

During the war, the Israeli army would issue these so-called evacuation orders and people would just pick up whatever they could and leave.

Israel marked certain buildings that they would hit on a map – although there was no doubt that people would have to leave the entire area – and usually Israel would give people about half an hour to flee before the strike.

But that is not really enough time, and that’s why there’s a lot of gunfire now. People shoot in the air as a warning for residents to leave, because not everyone is on social media or aware of the forced evacuation order.

This forced evacuation order is for Hadath in the southern suburbs of Beirut, not far from the International airport. It is a densely populated area, so you can just imagine the panic.

And we saw this happen time and time again during weeks of widespread bombardments targeting areas where Hezbollah supporters live, whether in southern Lebanon – in the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh – or up in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, or in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

So this is bringing back memories for the people in the capital. People are afraid and schools are being closed because people are worried that this could spiral out of control and may not just be one hit in response to rocket fire.

Scenes of panic in Beirut neighbourhood Israel has said it will target

Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency has verified video showing panic in the streets of a Beirut neighbourhood for which Israel issued a forced evacuation with a threat that a building there would be bombed.

Residents in Hadath in Beirut’s southern suburbs can be seen rushing and scrambling away in anxiety.

Israel has not bombarded Beirut since a ceasefire was agreed last November. During the war, Israel struck Beirut repeatedly, killing dozens of civilians and assassinating senior Hezbollah leaders.

Israel says it wants to ‘enforce the ceasefire’ with force

Israel reacted with a lot of anger at two rockets fired earlier today from Lebanon, which did not cause any injuries, and the Israeli Minister of Defence has again stated that the equation means an attack on Kiryat Shmona [the target in northern Israel] will bring an attack on Beirut.

This is another escalation at a time when Israel has already stepped up attacks on Lebanon to “enforce the ceasefire”, to use the words of Israeli officials.

Israel wants to dictate a completely different dynamic between Hezbollah and Israel – one where Israel can strike Lebanon at will with American approval, but where no action from Lebanese territory would be tolerated.

There is no indication whether the [forced evacuation order in Hadath, southern Lebanon] will be it, or whether this is just the beginning of a wave of attacks in response to rockets launched at Kiryat Shmona.

The Israeli prime minister is meeting with his defence minister and chief of staff in the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv, but it’s not clear whether attacks on Lebanon are part of the discussions.

Israeli drones hovering above building threatened in southern Beirut

Three Israeli drones have been hovering above the building in Hadath in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel has threatened with bombardment and destruction.

At least three Israeli “roof-knocking” warning bombs have been dropped, sowing chaos and panic in the area.

That is the practice of dropping non-explosive or low-yield devices on the roofs of targeted civilian homes as a prior warning of imminent bombing attacks to purportedly give the inhabitants time to flee the attack.

Israel strikes Beirut for the first time since ceasefire ended Israel-Hezbollah war

Israel has bombarded Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in November.

The attack was in the southern suburbs after Israel issued a forced evacuation threat there.

Truce between Lebanon and Israel appears increasingly fragile

Tensions are soaring in Lebanon as the ceasefire agreement that halted the conflict with Israel on November 27 hangs by a thread, Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, has told Al Jazeera.

“The ceasefire has always been fragile because on one hand, Hezbollah has not been demilitarised,” Nader said.

“On the other hand, Israel is keeping territory inside Lebanon, so both sides have a justification to continue their military operations.”

While Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the launching of rockets at Israel earlier, Nader said it was up to the Lebanese authorities to enforce UN resolutions 1701 and 1559, by which the government must take full responsibility for any military activity in the country and, in particular, south of the Litani River.

Lebanon’s president says Israeli attacks on Beirut another violation of ceasefire

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says Israel’s attacks on Beirut are a “continuation of Israel’s violation of the agreement sponsored by France and the United States”.

In a statement on X, Aoun said: “The international community must put an end to these attacks and force Israel to abide by the agreement, just as Lebanon is committed to it.”

Israel, Lebanon ‘must step back from the brink’: UN official

The UN special coordinator for Lebanon warns that “neither Lebanon nor Israel can afford another round of violent conflict”.

“All actors must step back from the brink, immediately,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said on X.

Hennis-Plasschaert added in a statement that the exchange of fire across the border, known as the Blue Line, was “deeply concerning”.

“This is a critical period for Lebanon and the wider region,” the UN representative said. “A return to wider conflict would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs.”

Israeli attacks on Beirut are ‘unacceptable’ ceasefire violation, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Israeli attacks on Beirut this morning were “unacceptable” and a violation of the ceasefire and that such attacks “play into the hands of Hezbollah”.

“Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are unacceptable, what has taken place is unjust and unhelpful. That’s why France will continue to stand by you to ensure and maintain your sovereignty and security,” he said, speaking alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

The two leaders met at the Elysee Palace in Paris to discuss economic reforms and efforts to stabilise the country as a fragile truce with Israel increasingly comes under pressure.

Macron said the Lebanese army had been deployed throughout most of southern Lebanon and had ensured there was no Hezbollah presence there.

“We also would like to reiterate that there should be no unilateral actions by Hezbollah to violate the ceasefire,” Macron said.

“The parties must honour and respect their obligations in order not to undermine the achievements made, and the Israeli forces must pull out from the five points [they occupy] in the south of Lebanon, and residents must be allowed to return to their homes.”

All groups in Lebanon must surrender their weapons: Lebanese MP

Lebanese Member of Parliament Najar Aoun Saliba has told Al Jazeera that all parties must respect the 1701 UN resolution, which states that no group must hold weapons in Lebanon other than the state.

“We call on the militias present in Lebanon to respect the UN resolution so that the government can continue pushing diplomatic efforts” to have Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, Saliba said.

“As long as these weapons are outside the control of the national security forces, this is going to weaken the government.”

While Hezbollah must relinquish its arsenal, Saliba said it cannot be forced to quit politics. “It’s up to the people to decide on this, as they were elected in the 2022 election as a political party and have the right to continue exercising their political role,” she said.

“We have paid our dues for serving other governments and it’s now time to rally around the government, the prime minister and the president,” she added.

When Hezbollah attacks, Israel must respond in Iran: Ex-PM

Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, said on X, “When Hezbollah, a terror arm of Iran, fires at Israel, Israel must respond in Tehran.”

He added, “Every Iranian octopus arm that fires at Israel, Israel must exact a price from the head of the octopus – Iran.”

Israel claims it hit storage facility of unmanned drones in Beirut

Israel made forced evacuation warnings for the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital earlier today. Then three smaller missiles hit the building it highlighted on the map followed by another massive strike.

According to the Israeli military, the target was a military storage facility of unmanned drones. The army said it will continue to respond to what it says a grave violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah.

Since the ceasefire Hezbollah was reached in November of last year, Israel has imposed the truce with fire, according to Israeli officials and army. In essence, what Israel has dictated a formula in which – with American support – it can strike any target it deemed necessary within the territory of Lebanon.

Lebanon PM tells army to arrest those behind attack on Israel

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged the army to quickly identify and arrest those who carried out rocket fire towards Israel, which responded by striking south Beirut for the first time since November.

Salam contacted the army chief “and asked him to act quickly to undertake the necessary investigations to uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanon’s stability and security”, according to a statement from his office, urging “intensified efforts” to arrest the perpetrators.

Friday was the second time – the first last Saturday – that rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israeli territory since a November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which denied involvement both times.

In response, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, for the first time since the truce.

People did not expect Israel to attack so deep into Lebanon

We are by the building [in Hadath, Beirut] attacked by Israel, and it is total destruction here.

It is a residential block in which many families lived, and many of them watched the building as Israeli warplanes destroyed it. Also, the apartments and shops in the surrounding area have been affected by the Israeli air strikes, many windows were shattered.

There is a game-changer here; since the November 27 ceasefire, this is the first time Israel targeted Beirut. 

Israeli Defence Minister Katz equates fate of Kiryat Shmona with Beirut’s

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has urged Lebanon to implement the ceasefire agreement or face additional strikes in the Lebanese capital.

“As I said, the fate of Kiryat Shmona [in northern Israel] is the same as Beirut. If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and in the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut,” Katz says in a statement on X.

“For any attempt to harm the Galilee communities, the roofs of homes in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district will shake,” he added.

“I send a clear message to the Lebanese government: If you do not enforce the ceasefire agreement, we will,” Katz also said.

Beirut attack could mark beginning of new phase in Israel’s war on Lebanon

Beirut-based journalist Ali Rizk has told Al Jazeera that while French President Emmanuel Macron criticised the Israeli attacks on Beirut, it will be interesting to see how the United States responds.

“Are they going to say that Israel has the right to defend itself, as we’re accustomed to, or is there going to be a different reaction given that this [attack] undermines Washington’s allies?” he said.

The Trump administration had previously reassured Lebanon that the capital would not be struck again after the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in late November.

However, Israel now claims it hit a building in its southern suburbs because Hezbollah drones were stored. Rizk said that while Israel had previously attacked what it said were missile storage sites, the fact that it was now claiming to be targeting a drone depot in the capital could set a new precedent.

“Is this now the start of a new phase whereby the Lebanese capital is going to be targeted time and time again?” Rizk said.

The journalist added he would also closely watch an upcoming speech by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, after the group earlier denied responsibility for rockets launched towards Israel.

Israel aims to ‘bludgeon the Lebanese society and state’ into acquiescence

Israel’s latest attacks on Beirut are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government’s aims to assert Israeli power across the Middle East, according to Rami Khoury, a Middle East analyst from the American University of Beirut.

“It continues a trend that sees the Israelis asserting their military superiority, which is possible because of the total American and other Western support for Israel to do anything that it wants with what it has militarily,” he told Al Jazeera from Boston in the United States.

“And [the Israeli] formula is that anybody who challenges Israel will suffer desolation – not just pinprick attacks or an assassination here or there, but total desolation. Gaza is an example of that, and they will repeat this as necessary all over the region.”

He said the area of Hadath, the area of Beirut hit by Israel today, is a strategic area between the centre of the capital and the international airport.

“It is an area that houses a lot of low-income people, but it also has some fancy apartments close to the sea. So it’s also a message to the Lebanese that Israel will not hesitate to attack any part of Beirut, even the central part, if need be, where there are quite a few expensive apartments, businesses and facilities,” he said.

He said that Israel’s ultimate aim is to force the Lebanese government to agree to some kind of normalisation agreement.

“And if they can’t create a puppet government in south Lebanon, as they did in the ’80s and ’90s, they will try to bludgeon the Lebanese society and state into acquiescing to Israel’s demands.”

Two Syrian workers killed by Israeli strike on southern Lebanon road

We’ve been reporting on multiple Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and the capital, Beirut.

An Israeli drone strike targeted and killed two Syrian workers on the Yohmor River road in the south.

‘There was no widespread panic in Beirut due to Israeli strikes’

David Wood of the International Crisis Group says the attack created a sense of fear among people in Beirut, but they were also prepared. “It is an unfortunate reality of recent months in Lebanon and people have been quite prepared,” he said.

The analyst, speaking from the Lebanese capital, said people were worried, but there was no widespread panic. Wood stressed that the power and influence over the decisions of the Netanyahu government lie in Washington.

“But, of course, it is an urgent priority for all the members of the international community who have diplomatic relations with Lebanon and Israel to encourage both sides to implement to ceasefire agreement,” he said.

“If Israel wants the ceasefire to succeed, it should give the Lebanese side the opportunity [to uphold] its side of the ceasefire,” Wood added.

Wood said that Israel did not give Lebanon the chance to investigate the rockets fired this morning by swiftly striking.

Almost like Israel was waiting for an incident to launch more attacks, perhaps even forcing an incident... Where stands the investigation of last weekends rocket fire that prompted Israel to launch 200 strikes on Lebanon... (404 not found)

Lebanese Army locates rocket launch site in south Lebanon

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1453782/lebanese-army-finds-rocket-launch-site-in-south-lebanon.html

The Lebanese Army located the site where two rockets were fired toward northern Israel on Friday morning and has subsequently launched an investigation into who is responsible for the attack, which Hezbollah has firmly denied any involvement in.

The rockets were reportedly launched from an area in Qaaqaait al-Jisr, in the Nabatieh district, north of the Litani River.

Not that Israel ever adheres to Proportionality or anything else in International Humanitarian Law.

While in Paris for meetings with the French president, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun released a statement affirming Hezbollah's firm denial of involvement in the attacks. “Everything indicates Hezbollah is not responsible” for the rocket fire towards Israel, Aoun said.

The army’s units, deployed across various regions, are actively monitoring the situation and urging citizens to follow safety instructions to avoid further harm. The military emphasized that it is taking necessary measures to control the situation along the southern borders.

Two wounded in Israeli strike: Lebanese officials

Two people have been wounded in an Israeli strike on the municipality of Beit Yahoun, in southern Lebanon, the country’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health, has announced.

Israel has repeatedly attacked Lebanon in recent days, including by striking a Beirut suburb earlier today, for the first time since the November ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut

People inspected the damage and gathered their belongings at the site of an Israeli strike in a Beirut suburb.


_{People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs}

Hezbollah calls on Lebanese gov’t to take action against Israeli strikes

The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, has called for stronger national unity and a firmer stance in the face of Israeli “aggression”, and called on the Lebanese government to take “practical steps” to stop strikes on the country.

His comments came after Israeli forces struck Beirut earlier today, despite a fragile ceasefire that came into effect last year following 13 months of war between Israel and the Lebanese group.

Raad said Hezbollah has not violated the ceasefire and that the state “must fulfil its duty to deter the enemy”.

The government does not have “exclusive authority” over decisions relating to the war, he said, adding that it is incapable of defending Lebanon on its own.

“Anyone who thinks the resistance is a thing of the past is mistaken,” he said.

14 PCRS and civil defence workers still missing in Rafah area, one body found was laid to rest

Six days now of no clue where these (Palestinian Red Crescent Society) workers have been. But let me remind you what happened, these Red Crescent and civil defence workers went to Rafah because Israel had started an incursion there and Palestinians had been killed.

They were on a rescue mission.

Yesterday, a team was finally allowed to go to the area, but only found the body of one paramedic, and they buried him today.

There are still 14 missing (nine PRCS and five civil defence). They have been waiting for hours, from early morning for access to the area, but their mission was denied (by Israel) and they have not been able to access the area today.

Israel violating international law with forced evacuations in Gaza, UN says

The United Nations Human Rights Office has accused Israel of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under “mandatory evacuation orders”.

The Israeli army has issued what the UN described as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, covering large areas across Gaza, since it resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, ending a two-month-old ceasefire amid disputes over terms for extending it.

“These evacuations fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law,” UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday.

“Israel is not taking any measures to provide accommodation for the evacuated population, nor [to] ensure that these evacuations are conducted in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition,” Al-Kheetan’s statement added.

More than half of northern Gaza appeared to be under such orders, the UN said, while those who had been newly displaced from the south of the enclave in the Rafah area and forced to go to coastal al-Mawasi were not guaranteed safety there.

“We are deeply concerned about the shrinking space for civilians in Gaza who are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli army from large swaths of territory,” it added.

Palestinian Refugee Affairs chief calls on UN to reverse international staff withdrawal

The head of the PLO’s Refugee Affairs Department has called on the UN to reverse its decision to withdraw international staff from Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinian agency Wafa reports.

The official, Ahmed Abu Holi, called on Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini, to reconsider their decision after several UN staffers, including a Bulgarian national who was killed, were hit by Israeli strikes in recent days.

Abu Holi said in a statement on Friday that the decision to withdraw international staff aligns with the two Israeli laws that ban UNRWA’s activities and prohibit its international and local staff from operating. He called the UN officials’ decision “hasty” and said it sets a dangerous precedent, adding that the presence of international staff serves as a protective element for Palestinians who seek refuge in UN shelters.

Abu Holi warned that the absence of international staff poses a heightened risk of Israeli forces committing crimes, as these foreign national can play an important role as witnesses.


Nice theory, but Israel doesn't seem to care about killing foreign nationals. And so far they continue to get away with it. 

But yes, this hasty decision will only embolden Netanyahu to bomb more aid workers / aid depots / aid convoys as it's achieving the goal of making Gaza unlivable. Same as Netanyahu seeing the protests in Gaza as 'proof' that his 'strategy' is working. The logic of war criminals.

Main events on March 28th

Over 200 groups urge South Africa to return to ICJ

Over 200 South African and Palestinian human rights organisations have urged South Africa to return to the International Court of Justice to ensure the implementation of the provisional measures previously issued by the court against Israel.

In a statement, the groups thanked South Africa for being a “staunch supporter and protector of the fundamental rights and interests of Palestinians”. But they indicated that Israel’s resumed attacks on Gaza, as well as its ongoing military escalation in the occupied West Bank, amounted to a “change in situation” that could trigger the court’s prerogative to issue new or modify the existing measures.

In January 2024, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. In March 2024, it ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza.

And, in May 2024, the court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah and withdraw from the enclave.

Since then, “Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to a further seven months of unrelenting bombardment, forced displacement, starvation and erasure before the brief ceasefire that was violated by Israel hundreds of times in its 42-day existence”, the organisations wrote.