It was another night of heavy Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, with explosions lighting up the sky. The target was, again, Dahieh, Hezbollah’s base in the city’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military had issued several evacuation orders, saying it would hit buildings linked to the group. Some of the warnings came in the middle of the night.
Iranian state TV has carried a statement from the IRGC (lslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) confirming “dozens” of missiles have been launched towards Israel, and threatening another attack if Israel responds.
The powerful Revolutionary Guards describes the missile strike as retaliation for the assassination in July of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, as well as the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday – and for the killing of Lebanese and Palestinian people.
In southern Lebanon, another area with a heavy Hezbollah presence, we still don’t know the extent of the Israeli ground invasion. Israel has described it as a limited and targeted operation.
This morning, Hezbollah claimed it had clashed with Israeli troops, forcing them to retreat.
It said its air force had targeted “important bases” and would announce the details later.
Israel issues ‘life-saving’ instructions to civilians published at 18:14 British Summer Time 1 October
The Israeli home front command has sent text messages containing “life-saving instructions” to people in certain areas of Israel, directing them to enter protected spaces.
In a video statement, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari tells people to reach the safest protected space in their vicinity and await further instructions.
Israel’s air defense system is “fully operational”, he adds. It is detecting and intercepting threats “even at this moment”, he says.
He tells Israeli citizens to “remain vigilant” and follow safety instructions.
“We are strong and can handle this event,” he says, adding that the IDF will “continue to do everything necessary to protect the civilians of Israel”. (BBC, excludes headline)
