- Announcement is latest threat of new strike in Lebanon, ignoring international leaders' calls during ongoing UN General Assembly session for Tel Aviv to halt bloodshed

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army late Friday ordered residents of three areas in Beirut's southern suburb to evacuate immediately, claiming that the Hezbollah group is using them.

The latest announcement is a clear threat of a new strike in Lebanon, ignoring international leaders' calls during the ongoing UN General Assembly session for Tel Aviv to halt the bloodshed.

Avichay Adraee, spokesman for the Israeli army, said in a statement that people should stay at least 500 meters away from the three areas in the southern suburb.

"You are located near Hezbollah properties, and for your safety (...) you are obliged to evacuate the buildings immediately and move away," Adraee said.

Following the Israeli warning, thousands of people were seen leaving the southern suburb for other areas of Beirut, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

The dangerous development comes after Israeli jets conducted several heavy airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier on Friday, claiming to have targeted the main headquarters of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

According to an Anadolu correspondent in Beirut, Israeli warplanes launched 10 airstrikes on the southern suburb, which is regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold, and a large smoke plume was seen over the area later.

Shortly after the strikes, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters, which he claimed was built underneath civilian buildings.

Following the airstrike, Israeli media said the army was verifying whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was inside the targeted area.

Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and 76 others were injured as a result of the strikes. But Prime Minister Najib Mikati later said information indicated that there were "a large number of people."

Hezbollah is yet to comment on the attack.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The ministry also said that the death toll in Lebanon since last October is 1,540, in addition to more than 77,000 displaced from southern and eastern parts of the country.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of turning the Gaza conflict into a regional war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar