Israel Orders Evacuation of Beirut Suburb as Airstrikes Pound Area

One civilian reported killed in a strike against southern village

For the third time in the past month, Israel has carried out an airstrike against the Lebanese capital city of Beirut. This latest strike targeted the Hadath neighborhood, a southern suburb of Beirut. They issued a warning telling civilians to evacuate the neighborhood in advance of the attack.

An explosion was reported in the area around 6 pm local time, and a plume of smoke was seen rising from the neighborhood. The exact details on what was hit and what casualties, if any, resulted are as yet unclear.

Preliminary reports are that three bombs have hit the area, and it is believed that two different buildings were targeted, though exactly what they are is not entirely clear.

Israeli Air Force jets over Beirut During Hassan Nasrallah’s Funeral. State of Israel public release

Israel was quick to claim that the attack targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot, and that it housed “high-quality weapons.” They reported informed the US in advance of the attack. Evidence of this claim of a missile depot was not offered.

Israeli media quoted unnamed defense officials as saying this must have been an unusual and dangerous threat because otherwise Israel would not have attacked in such a way. Israel launches multiple attacks on Lebanon effectively every day, and almost always under the pretext of targeting Hezbollah.

Indeed, Beirut wasn’t the only strike of Sunday. Earlier in the day, an Israeli drone attacked a farm near the southern village of Halta, killing one civilian. Here again, the official Israeli narrative was that this civilian was a “Hezbollah operative” who was actively rearming Hezbollah at the time they attacked the farm.

Israel is facing growing criticism for its indiscriminate attacks on Lebanon, which often inflict civilian casualties. Israel only comments on some of the deadly attacks carried out on Lebanon in a given day, and almost always claimed Hezbollah figures were the target, but the evidence simply isn’t there that they’re hitting Hezbollah in any reliable way, and as tensions continue to grow along the border, the Lebanese government is pushing France and the US, the guarantors of the ceasefire Israel is constantly violating, to do something about it.

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon issued a statement warning the strikes in Beirut were causing panic, though as of yet neither the US nor France has commented on the latest strike. France has tended to be more willing to criticize Israeli aggression, while the US has tended to endorse such attacks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.