Israeli Finance Minister Bazalel Smotrich warned residents of suburbs in Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold, that they will face devastation similar to that in Gaza.
“Very soon, Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis,” referring to a town in southern Gaza that was destroyed during Israel’s attacks in the war against Hamas.
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Smotrich added in a video during his visit to Israel’s northern border that “Hezbollah made a grave mistake and will pay a heavy price.” Likewise, he said “we are attacking the head of the octopus in Iran and, at the same time, we will cut off the arm of Hezbollah.”
Panic engulfs Beirut
Israel’s warning caused panic among the population of Beirut, after it called for the evacuation of suburbs in the south of the Lebanese capital due to possible bombings against the Hezbollah stronghold.
“Save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” the Israeli army urged residents of the entire southern outskirts of Beirut, where hundreds of thousands of people live, on Thursday.
Lebanon became involved in the conflict in the Middle East, after a first attack against Israel perpetrated by the pro-Iran movement.
For its part, Hezbollah claimed to want to ‘avenge’ the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on the first day of the Israeli and US offensive in Iran.
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Since the Israeli campaign of attacks, at least 77 people have died and 90,000 have been displaced, according to authorities. The Israeli army has already penetrated several towns in southern Lebanon.
The NGO Human Right Watch assured that Israel’s calls directed at the population of a large area of southern Lebanon could violate the laws of war.
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