The Israeli army told residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate their homes as it continued its cross-border incursion and struck Hezbollah targets in a Beirut suburb.
The latest warnings on Thursday brought the number of southern cities subject to evacuation requests to 70, including the provincial capital Nabatieh, suggesting another Israeli military operation was imminent against the Iranian-backed armed group.
Hezbollah also carried out new attacks, targeting with a volley of rockets what it called the “Israeli Sakhnin base” for military industries in Haifa Bay on Israel’s northern Mediterranean coast.
As it pushes into Lebanon, Israel is also weighing its retaliatory options against its archenemy, Iran
Asked on Thursday whether he would support Israel in striking Iranian oil facilities, US President Joe Biden told reporters: “We’re discussing it.”
The comments came as a surge in global oil prices and rising tensions in the Middle East have raised traders’ concerns about potential supply disruptions.
Biden said, “Nothing is going to happen today.” The president said Wednesday that he would not support any Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
Israel has been fighting Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza for almost a year, . It sent troops to southern Lebanon on Tuesday, following two weeks of intense airstrikes in a worsening conflict that has embroiled Iran and threatens to embroil the United States.
Israel says its operations in Lebanon aim to allow tens of thousands of citizens to return home after being evacuated from northern Israel due to Hezbollah bombing during the Gaza war.
More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli attacks and nearly 2,000 people have been killed since Israeli attacks on Lebanon began over the past year, most in the past two weeks, Lebanese authorities have said .
28 health workers were killed in Lebanon in 24 hours, the WHO says
The World Health Organization (WHO) said 28 health workers were killed in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said flight restrictions meant the agency would not be able to deliver a planned large shipment of trauma equipment and medical supplies to Lebanon on Friday.
Hezbollah claims to have repelled several ground operations by Israeli troops, including with ambushes and direct clashes.
Lebanese security sources say Israeli troops have entered Lebanese territory and have been pushed back several times in recent days, without establishing a permanent presence.
Hezbollah said it killed 17 Israeli soldiers in combat in southern Lebanon on Thursday, citing field and security sources. Israeli forces did not comment on the claim.
The Israeli army reported the death of a soldier on Thursday. He announced it on Wednesday
Rocket sirens blared constantly in cities across northern Israel, forcing residents to run for cover as Hezbollah continued its fire across the border.
The Lebanese army said two soldiers were killed Thursday by Israeli strikes in separate incidents in southern Lebanon, one in an attack on a military post and another in an attack on a rescue mission with the Lebanese Red Cross.
The army said it returned fire when the military post was hit, a rare development for a force that has historically remained on the sidelines in the major conflict with Israel.
In the southern Beirut suburb known as Dahiye, a densely populated neighborhood where Hezbollah holds sway, several explosions were heard Thursday and several large plumes of smoke rose after heavy Israeli attacks.
Overnight, Israel bombed central Beirut in an attack that killed nine people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it struck 15 Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Thursday, including weapons sites and intelligence targets.
Reuters journalists reported hearing a loud explosion after a building in the Bachoura neighborhood was targeted just a few hundred meters from parliament, the closest an Israeli attack has ever come to the central downtown district.
Iran’s warning after the missile attack
After the Iranian missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States has said it will work with its longtime ally to ensure Iran faces “serious consequences.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in Doha, said Thursday that Tehran would be ready to respond.
“Any type of military attack, terrorist act or crossing of our red lines will be met with a decisive response from our armed forces,” he said.