March 13, 2026 | 06:15 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Thursday evening, targeting what it described as infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, according to reports by Deutsche Welle and Al Jazeera.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had begun a “wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure across Beirut.”
Footage from Reuters and AFP showed a large explosion in the central Bashoura neighborhood after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for a building in the area. Black smoke and flames were seen rising over parts of the city following the attack.
Israeli forces also warned residents to evacuate a building in Zuqaq al-Blat, another district in central Beirut, ahead of additional strikes.
The targeting of central Beirut marks an escalation in Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah, which has intensified over the past week and a half.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military called on residents in a large area south of the Zahrani River in southern Lebanon to evacuate in anticipation of further operations.
The violence has grown since Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones at Israel following the outbreak of the United States–Israel war with Iran on February 28. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that if the Lebanese government fails to stop Hezbollah’s attacks, Israel “will take the territory and do it ourselves.”
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, at least 687 people have been killed and more than 1,500 wounded in the latest escalation. Lebanese authorities say over 800,000 people have been displaced as the conflict spreads.
The United Nations and humanitarian groups warn that civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting. Many displaced families from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, have sought shelter in schools, with relatives, or in tents along the city’s waterfront.
Al Jazeera correspondent Bernard Smith said Lebanon is facing a deepening displacement crisis, with about 90 percent of government shelters already at capacity.
“People who are in those shelters have already seen their homes blown up, particularly those from the southern suburbs [of Beirut] and southern Lebanon, so they don’t have homes to go back to,” Smith reported from the capital.
“Many people are day labourers [and] can’t earn any salary. So people are without money, without a home to go back to, and this campaign of Israel’s and this fight between Israel and Hezbollah show no indication of ending soon.”
Read: IRGC: Ships Must Obtain Iran's Permission Before Crossing Strait of Hormuz
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