A huge fireball lit up the night sky and plumes of smoke rose over south Beirut early Sunday, October 6, as Israel unleashed intense air strikes targeting Hezbollah, nearly a year since the Gaza war erupted.
Lebanon's official National News Agency said the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes, which were heard across the city. The NNA said targets included a petrol station and a warehouse for medical supplies. "The strikes were like an earthquake," shopkeeper Mehdi Zeiter, 60, said.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for "pressure on Israel" for a ceasefire after the renewed strikes. Mikati said he backed US and French efforts for a truce.
Israel's military said it struck weapons storage facilities and infrastructure while taking measures "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians." Footage shot by Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed a massive fireball over a residential area, followed by a loud bang and secondary explosions. Smoke still billowed from the site after dawn.
In the Sabra area, near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments of the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli forces with artillery after they tried to infiltrate towards Khallat Shuaib in Blida, in southern Lebanon. A statement said fighters fired rockets at Israeli troops during the evacuation of "dead and wounded soldiers" in the Menara border area shortly after midnight. Hezbollah also said it launched assault drones against an Israeli military base.
Ahead of Monday's grim anniversary, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a televised briefing: "We are prepared with increased forces in anticipation for this day," when there could be "attacks on the home front."
On Sunday the military said it had encircled the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza after indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of fighting. The army said it had killed about 440 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon "from the ground and from the air" since Monday, when troops began "targeted" ground operations against Hezbollah.
Israel says it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by almost a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran an "ongoing threat" after Tehran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East, on Tuesday launched around 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for Israeli killings of militant leaders including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. The missile attack killed a Palestinian in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and damaged an Israeli air base, according to satellite images. It came the same day Israeli ground forces began their raids into Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon.