New wave of Israeli airstrikes against Beirut's southern suburbs

BEIRUT — Around 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before Hezbollah's newly appointed leader Naim Qassem delivered his second speech since his ascension, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee published six evacuation orders for buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The neighborhoods of Haret Hreik, Laylaki and Burj al-Barajneh were all affected by the orders, which claimed the residents of these areas were "located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will act forcefully in the near future."

Around an hour after the notices were posted, exclusively on X, the first airstrike hit Haret Hreik. In  less than two hours after the first strike, five more strikes were reported in Haret Hreik and Laylaki, at least one of which hit at an area not listed in the evacuation orders.

Shortly before 7 p.m., the Israeli army claimed, through Adraee, that its bombings of the suburbs were against "Hezbollah targets," including "headquarters, weapons depots, and other military structures."

The map published alongside the statement, on Adraee's X account, shows the six points mentioned in the evacuation orders he issued earlier. According to reports in local media and the sounds heard throughout the capital, the Israeli army carried out at least eight strikes between the 3 p.m. evacuation order and the 7 p.m. statement, all of them relatively powerful. The exact number of strikes is yet to be confirmed.