Israel pounds Beirut suburbs and south Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket barrage

BBC:

The Israeli military has carried out several waves of air strikes across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, after the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah launched about 200 rockets into northern Israel.

Many Israeli strikes were reported in the south of the country and Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold from which thousands of people have fled because of the intense bombardment over the past week.

Some strikes hit other parts of the capital, including the Corniche seafront. Lebanon’s health ministry said 12 people were killed there overnight.

Hezbollah launched the rocket barrage across the Israeli border on Wednesday evening in an apparently co-ordinated attack with Iran.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the Israeli military had been instructed to prepare to broaden its operations in Lebanon in response.

The military subsequently expanded a blanket evacuation order for southern Lebanon, almost doubling the size of the zone it has said residents should leave for their safety.

It now covers almost the entire area south of the Zahrani river, which flows east to west about 40km (25 miles) from the Israeli border, according to a map posted online.

In an address to his nation, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said: “It is a war we did not want; on the contrary, we are working day and night to bring it to an end.”