More than 100 people have been killed in Lebanon since Monday in escalating Israeli strikes, Lebanese health authorities said Thursday, as Israel widened evacuation warnings to Beirut’s southern suburbs and vast areas of southern Lebanon amid intensifying hostilities with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said the death toll from the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict has reached 102, with at least 638 people injured over the past four days.
The latest strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, early Thursday. Television footage showed plumes of smoke rising from several areas following the bombardment.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone strike on an apartment in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli killed senior Hamas official Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife.
The widening conflict has prompted Israel to issue new evacuation warnings covering hundreds of square kilometres in southern Lebanon, warning residents to leave their homes ahead of anticipated military action.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted an urgent warning on social media instructing residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate north of the Litani River.
“Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon: you must immediately continue evacuating to the north of the Litani river,” Adraee wrote, specifically mentioning the cities of Tyre and Bint Jbeil.
The Israeli military earlier announced it was establishing a buffer zone inside Lebanese territory to protect Israeli citizens. By Wednesday, officials said three divisions comprising infantry, armoured and engineering units were operating inside Lebanon.
The expanding strikes and evacuation orders have triggered a growing humanitarian crisis across Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities estimate that more than 83,000 people have been displaced internally since the latest escalation began.
According to Syrian authorities and the UN refugee agency, at least 38,000 people, mostly Syrians, have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria to escape the violence.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said the situation reflects a worsening displacement crisis linked to multiple conflicts across the Middle East.
“Across the Middle East and beyond, a troubling displacement picture is emerging in the aftermath of the ongoing conflicts in the region,” Baloch said Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military expanded evacuation orders to Beirut’s southern suburbs, instructing residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” indicating the possibility of intensified bombardment in areas near the Lebanese capital.
While earlier evacuation warnings largely focused on regions south of the Litani River, Thursday’s order marks the first comprehensive evacuation threat affecting areas close to Beirut since hostilities resumed, raising fears of further escalation in the conflict.
The fighting forms part of a wider regional crisis involving Iran-backed groups and Israel, increasing concerns of a broader Middle East confrontation. [KNT]
