The Israeli army on Wednesday told residents of two neighbourhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs to leave immediately before strikes on Hezbollah targets, as the militant group’s new leader Naim Qassem delivered a speech.
“You are located near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, against which the Israel Defense Forces (military) will act in the near future,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that included a map of the areas in question.
Qasem said Wednesday his group had tens of thousands of combatants ready to fight Israel, in a speech marking 40 days since his predecessor was killed in a strike.
“We have tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” ready to fight, he said, adding that nowhere in Israel was “off-limits” to the group’s attacks.