Overnight Airstrikes Hit Beirut's Southern Suburbs
3/5/2026 9:46:51 AM
Israeli strikes have hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, state-run media have said, as Israel’s deadline for Iranian officials to leave Lebanon expired, as it bombards the south and entrenches troops on the ground across the border, a volatile front in the wider regional war.
The Lebanese National News Agency on Thursday reported several strikes in the early morning hours on the southern Beirut neighbourhoods of Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel’s military had earlier issued forced displacement orders for the suburbs where the strikes were reported, warning it was about to hit what it said were targets linked to Hezbollah.
It said targets included a facility used by the group’s aerial units, without providing evidence.
Israel on Wednesday gave Iran’s representatives in Lebanon 24 hours to leave the country. That deadline has since expired.
Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, said “the Iranians seem to believe that this is a threat against their embassy and are threatening any Israeli embassy if their mission is struck”.
Human Rights Watch called the threats deeply concerning, saying this signals an intent to commit a war crime, as people who are not directly involved in hostilities cannot be targeted under international law.
Pett said gunfire could be heard throughout the night in the Lebanese capital as residents shot in the air to warn of imminent Israeli strikes.
Forced evacuation warnings “come in the middle of the night, and the city’s residents are not usually glued to X in the middle of the night,” the reporter said.
“So locally, when people become aware of these warnings, they start firing in the air throughout the southern suburbs of Beirut to warn people that the Israeli military has issued an imminent threat to their homes and lives.”
The Lebanese National News Agency on Thursday reported several strikes in the early morning hours on the southern Beirut neighbourhoods of Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel’s military had earlier issued forced displacement orders for the suburbs where the strikes were reported, warning it was about to hit what it said were targets linked to Hezbollah.
It said targets included a facility used by the group’s aerial units, without providing evidence.
Israel on Wednesday gave Iran’s representatives in Lebanon 24 hours to leave the country. That deadline has since expired.
Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, said “the Iranians seem to believe that this is a threat against their embassy and are threatening any Israeli embassy if their mission is struck”.
Human Rights Watch called the threats deeply concerning, saying this signals an intent to commit a war crime, as people who are not directly involved in hostilities cannot be targeted under international law.
Pett said gunfire could be heard throughout the night in the Lebanese capital as residents shot in the air to warn of imminent Israeli strikes.
Forced evacuation warnings “come in the middle of the night, and the city’s residents are not usually glued to X in the middle of the night,” the reporter said.
“So locally, when people become aware of these warnings, they start firing in the air throughout the southern suburbs of Beirut to warn people that the Israeli military has issued an imminent threat to their homes and lives.”