Lebanon’s health ministry said Saturday that hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs would be evacuated after heavy Israeli strikes in the area, urging hospitals in unaffected areas to stop admitting non-urgent cases.
A ministry statement called on hospitals unaffected by Israeli strikes to “stop receiving non-emergency cases until the end of next week in order to make space to receive patients from hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs which will be evacuated due to the developments in the aggression”.
The health ministry has yet to provide an updated toll for strikes.
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Israeli fighter jets bombarded the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut overnight into Saturday, sending panicked families fleeing massive strikes reportedly targeting Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel said it was attacking Hezbollah’s headquarters, while Israeli television networks reported that Nasrallah was the target, although a source close to the group said he was “fine”.
The explosions that shook southern Beirut were the fiercest since Israel and Hezbollah went to war in 2006.
After huge raids sounded across the Mediterranean city on Friday, Israel issued fresh warnings for people to leave the densely populated Dahiyeh suburbs early Saturday.
The Israeli army declined to comment on Nasrallah but claimed early Saturday that its air strikes killed “Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy” as well as “other senior officials”.
Hezbollah has not confirmed or denied Israel’s announcement about the commanders.