TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in northern Lebanon for the first time.
The attack on the Beddawi camp near the northern city of Tripoli killed an official with Hamas’ military wing along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement. Hamas later said another member of its military wing was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley.
Israel’s military said it killed two senior officials with Hamas’ military wing in Lebanon, one near Tripoli. Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began almost a year ago,in addition to most of the top leadership of Hezbollah as the fighting has escalated in Lebanon in recent weeks.
Plumes of smoke dominated the skyline over Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah commanders and military equipment and aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, paramedics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from homes in less than two weeks since Israel escalated its strikes in Lebanon.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and the Israeli military have traded fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon while intensifying its airstrikes there and near Beirut. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the intense ground clashes that Israel says have killed 250 Hezbollah fighters.
Israel’s military on Saturday said about 30 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with most intercepted.
Hundreds of thousands of people flee Lebanon
At least six people were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to the National News Agency, a Lebanese state-run new outlet.
The Israeli military said special forces were carrying out targeted ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads, watchtowers and weapons storage facilities. The military said troops also dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.
Nearly 375,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria fleeing Israeli strikes in less than two weeks, according to a Lebanese government committee.
Associated Press journalists saw thousands of people continuing to cross the Masnaa Border Crossing on foot, even after Israeli airstrikes left huge craters in the roadleading to it on Thursday.
More strikes and evacuation orders in Gaza
Also on Saturday, Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza killed at least nine people.
One strike hit a group of people in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, killing at least five people, including two children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency service.
Another strike hit a house in the northern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four people, the Awda hospital said.
The Israeli military did not have any immediate comment on the strikes, but it has long accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas.
The Israeli military also warned Palestinians to evacuate along the strategic Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, which was at the heart of obstacles to a cease-fire deal earlier this year. The military told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, an area along Gaza’s shore that the military has designated a humanitarian zone.
It’s unclear how many Palestinians are living in the areas ordered evacuated, parts of which were evacuated previously.
Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the nearly year-long war, according to the Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Almost 90% of Gaza’s residents are now displaced, amid widespread destruction.
Mroue and El Deeb reported from Beirut, Lebanon.
