Israeli strikes hit south Beirut - report Official Lebanese media said five Israeli strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts Saturday, four of them “very violent”. “Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on (Beirut’s) southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. AFP correspondents in Beirut reported hearing several explosions. AFP footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas, with one strike creating a ball of flame that rose into the air while flares shot up amid thick smoke. The National News Agency later said air traffic at Lebanon’s only airport in Beirut was “ongoing despite the Israeli enemy’s aggression on the southern suburbs’. There are early reports coming in from Reuters that Israeli air strikes on a mosque near the Al-Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, has killed at least five people and injured 20. The report is citing medics on the ground. Hezbollah says it has repelled an attempt by Israeli troops to storm into a Lebanese border village in the last few hours, AFP reports. The fighters launched “artillery shells” at “Israeli enemy soldiers who attempted to infiltrate from... Blida... forcing (them) to retreat,” the group said in a statement. At least eight strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Saturday including close to the country’s main airport, Reuters reported, after the Israeli military issued warnings to residents of certain buildings in the area. Summary Israel strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts on Saturday night, official Lebanese media reported. “Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on (Beirut’s) southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Correspondents in Beirut reported hearing explosions, and AFP footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas. Earlier on Saturday an Israel military spokesman said the country will retaliate against Iran for the Iranian missile attack at “the timing which we decide”. “The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement, according to a Reuters report. Iran said that any attack by Israel will be met with an “even stronger” retaliation, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries. “Our reaction to any attack by the Zionist regime is completely clear,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told reporters in Damascus, Syria. “For every action, there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger,” he said. Benjamin Netanyahu said Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is a “disgrace” for calling for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this [axis] call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace. Well let me tell you this Israel will win with or without their support but their shame will continue long after the war is won,” Netanyahu said. The president of Ireland sharply criticised Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon. “It is outrageous that the Israel Defense Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” Michael Higgins said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces had requested that peacekeepers operating on the “blue line” between Israel and the Golan Heights “relocate”. Photographers have captured the explosions which struck south Beirut late on Saturday night. Lebanon’s National News Agency said five Israeli strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts Saturday, four of them “very violent”. AFP correspondents in Beirut reported hearing several explosions and witnessed a ball of flame rising up amid thick smoke. Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address on Saturday evening that Israel will respond to Iran’s attack, following the barrage of missiles fired by Tehran at the country this week. “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and to respond to these attacks and that is what we will do,” Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said in a televised broadcast. Earlier today Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said that for any attack by Israel, “there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger”. Israeli strikes hit south Beirut - report Official Lebanese media said five Israeli strikes hit south Beirut and its outskirts Saturday, four of them “very violent”. “Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on (Beirut’s) southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat” area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. AFP correspondents in Beirut reported hearing several explosions. AFP footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas, with one strike creating a ball of flame that rose into the air while flares shot up amid thick smoke. The National News Agency later said air traffic at Lebanon’s only airport in Beirut was “ongoing despite the Israeli enemy’s aggression on the southern suburbs’. Several explosions heard in south Beirut Explosions have been heard in south Beirut, AFP reported. The news comes after the Israeli army ordered southern Beirut residents to evacuate on Saturday night as it continued its assault on Lebanon targets. Israel previously confirmed it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut in the early hours of Saturday morning. Earlier today French president Emmanuel Macron led a group of 88 Francophone countries in calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Lebanon. The UK foreign secretary said reports of Israel missile strikes hitting Lebanese hospitals are “disturbing” in a post on X. “Reports that Israeli strikes have hit health facilities and support personnel in Lebanon are deeply disturbing,” David Lammy said. “All parties must comply with international humanitarian law. Our priority is an immediate ceasefire on both sides so Israeli and Lebanese civilians can return home.” Israel orders some Beirut residents to evacuate The Israeli army ordered southern Beirut residents to evacuate on Saturday night as it continued its assault on Lebanon. “For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate the designated buildings and those adjacent to them and move away from them at least 500 meters,” Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli army, said on social media, AFP reported. More than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 9,535 wounded since fighting started in Lebanon, most of them since 23 September. Israel said it is targeting Hezbollah positions in Beirut. So it’s finally happening. The wider Middle East conflict that so many feared is igniting. Almost exactly a year after Hamas’s 7 October terrorist atrocities, Israel is fighting on multiple fronts. Iran is now the principal adversary. Israeli leaders, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, maintain that it always was. Netanyahu has long sought this showdown. Self-deluding boasts that Israel is “winning”, bruited about after the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, drown out calls to halt the madness. Despite their otiose talk of changing the regional balance of power, Netanyahu, his far-right allies and generals lack a credible, long-term political strategy. Their whack-a-mole tactics condemn Israel and neighbours to war without end. The same may be said of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the religious extremists who dominate Iran’s regime – and the surviving leaders of Iran’s proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. Nor should western reactionaries such as Donald Trump escape blame. All contribute to a destructive continuum of confrontation, violence and misery that is intensifying once again. [..] Moderate voices, such as Iran’s new president, are shouted down. Hapless Joe Biden is humiliated. The UN is slandered and ostracised, its aid workers killed. Peace becomes a dirty word. As ever, ordinary people suffer most. More than 1 million displaced in Lebanon; at least 1,000 killed in the past fortnight. More than 41,000 Palestinians dead in Gaza; almost the entire population homeless. Israeli citizens murdered, as in Jaffa last week, and thousands forced to flee; 101 hostages still unaccounted for. How does this end? In short, badly – for all concerned. The day so far Israel will retaliate against Iran for the missile attack launched by Tehran at “the timing which we decide”, a military spokesman said on Saturday. “The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement, according to a Reuters report. Iran said that any attack by Israel will be met with an “even stronger” retaliation, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries. “Our reaction to any attack by the Zionist regime is completely clear,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told reporters in Damascus, Syria. “For every action, there will be a proportional and similar reaction from Iran, and even stronger,” he said. Benjamin Netanyahu said Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is a “disgrace” for calling for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this [axis] call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace. Well let me tell you this Israel will win with or without their support but their shame will continue long after the war is won,” Netanyahu said. At least 41,825 Palestinians have been killed and 96,910 wounded in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the territory’s health authorities said on Saturday. A series of explosions were heard over Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Saturday after the Israeli military demanded evacuations for some areas while Hezbollah said it was engaged in continued clashes with Israeli troops in the Lebanon border area. Israel said on Friday it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut and was assessing the damage after a series of strikes on senior figures in the militant group that Iran’s supreme leader condemned as counterproductive. French president Emmanuel Macron said a group of 88 Francophone countries were calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Lebanon. The 88 members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, including France and Canada, call for an “immediate and lasting” ceasefire in Lebanon, Macron said, according to AFP. The president of Ireland sharply criticised Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon. “It is outrageous that the Israeli Defence Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” Michael Higgins said in a statement. The Israeli Defence Force had requested that peacekeepers operating on the “blue line” between Israel and the Golan Heights “relocate”. Netanyahu brands Macron "a disgrace" over call for arms embargo Benjamin Netanyahu said Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is a “disgrace” for calling for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. Speaking on Saturday, Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said the country was fighting “against the enemies of civilization”. “As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side. Yet President Macron and some other western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. Shame on them,” Netanyahu said. At least 41,825 Palestinians have been killed and 96,910 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since 7 October, the territory’s health authorities said on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people protested around the world against Israel’s actions today. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this [axis] call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace. Well let me tell you this Israel will win with or without their support but their shame will continue long after the war is won,” Netanyahu said. “For in defending ourselves against this barbarism, Israel is defending civilizations against those who seek to impose a dark age of fanatisicim on all of us.” The president of Ireland on Saturday sharply criticised Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon. “It is outrageous that the Israeli Defence Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” Michael Higgins said in a statement. “Indeed, Israel is demanding that the entire United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) operating under UN mandates walk away.” Ireland accounts for 347 of the 10,000 soldiers serving in the UNIFIL forces, which are charged with maintaining peace in the south of Lebanon. Earlier Saturday, Unifil said it had rejected Israeli demands that it “relocate” some positions ahead of Israeli ground operations against Hezbollah. Higgins called the demand “an insult to the most important global institution”. Israel will respond to Iran attack at "timing we decide" Israel will retaliate against Iran for the missile attack launched by Tehran at “the timing which we decide”, a military spokesman said on Saturday. “The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement, according to a Reuters report. Hagari added that two air bases struck in the attack remained fully operational and no aircraft were damaged. In the aftermath of Iran’s attack on Israel on Tuesday night, Israeli officials claimed their defences had stood firm. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Iran had launched more than 180 missiles, but few details about the damage were released and the US’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the attack “appears to have been defeated and ineffective”. But as Israel prepares its retaliation, analysts believe those initial reports could have been misleading – and could change the calculus of Israel’s response if it fears getting into a bout of protracted “missile ping-pong” with Iran, especially should Tehran choose softer targets in the future. Satellite and social media footage has shown missile after missile striking the Nevatim airbase in the Negev desert, and setting off at least some secondary explosions, indicating that despite the highly touted effectiveness of Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow air defences, Iran’s strikes were more effective than had been previously admitted. Experts who analysed the footage noted at least 32 direct hits on the airbase. None appeared to have caused major damage, but some landed close to hangars that house Israel’s F-35 jets, among the country’s most prized military assets. While those missiles did not appear to hit planes on the ground, they would nonetheless have a deadly effect if fired at a city such as Tel Aviv, or if directed at other high-value targets such as the Bazan Group’s oil refineries near Haifa – potentially creating an ecological disaster next to a big Israeli city.