Israel calls for more evacuations from south Lebanon; 9 dead in Beirut strike

BEIRUT: The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate a city and other communities in southern Lebanon that are north of a UN-declared buffer zone, signaling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

Israel has told people to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and other communities north of the Litani River, which formed the northern edge of the border zone established by the UN Security Council after the 2006 war in a resolution that both sides accuse the other of violating.

At least eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The region was meanwhile bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack.


The Lebanese Red Cross said an Israeli strike wounded four of its paramedics and killed a Lebanese army soldier as they were evacuating wounded people from the south. It said the convoy near the village of Taybeh, which was accompanied by Lebanese troops, was targeted Thursday despite coordinating its movements with U.N. peacekeepers. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut late Wednesday killed nine people, including seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders.

There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment not far from the United Nations headquarters, the Prime Minister's office and parliament. Hezbollah's civil defence unit said seven of its members were killed. Lebanon's Health Ministry said a total of nine people were killed.

Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the strike, and Lebanon's state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, without giving evidence.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

'Killed senior Hamas leader in Gaza'
The Israeli military said Thursday that it killed a senior Hamas leader in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip around three months ago. It said that a strike on an underground compound in northern Gaza killed Rawhi Mushtaha and two other Hamas commanders. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of Hamas who helped mastermind the October 7 attack. Sinwar is believed to be alive and in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Emirates on Thursday cancelled flights to Iraq, Iran and Jordan for three days over "regional unrest", after an Iranian missile strike on Israel stoked fears of a wider war.

Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, said a statement on its website which did not specify when they would resume.