Israel hammers Beirut suburbs as US pushes for ceasefire

Israel hammered Beirut’s suburbs overnight with airstrikes as the U.S. pushes for a cease-fire between the Jewish state and Lebanon. 

Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arab media branch, shared evacuation orders Thursday night on social media for residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying troops are near Hezbollah’s facilities. 

The airstrikes, the Israeli military said, were targeting Hezbollah’s command centers and facilities that produce ammunition for the Iranian-backed group. 

The attack came just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told top Biden administration officials that to reach any version of a cease-fire with Hezbollah, Israel must be able to address dangers coming from Lebanon and be able to get Israeli citizens back. The meeting between Netanyahu and Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, two senior White House officials, took place on Thursday, right as Hezbollah reportedly killed at least seven people using rockets. 

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated in the last month. Over 2,800 have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, the majority of the toll came within the last few weeks. 

Najib Mikati, Lebanon's current prime minister, said that the “expansion of Israeli aggression into Lebanese territories, along with repeated threats to evacuate entire cities and villages and renewed airstrikes targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut” shows an unwillingness to reach a cease-fire, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported Friday. 

World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris told The Washington Post that her group “is deeply concerned about the rising attacks on health workers and facilities in Lebanon.”