Fresh Israeli strikes hit Lebanon鈥檚 south and east on Thursday, official media reported and AFP images showed, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, including the first for east Lebanon鈥檚 Bekaa Valley.
Israel has been pounding south and east Lebanon, areas where Hezbollah holds sway, since all-out war erupted on September 23.
In the south, AFPTV footage captured smoke billowing after the Israeli military on X warned residents in and near a building in Al-Hawsh, just south of the southern coastal city of Tyre, to evacuate.
Lebanon鈥檚 official National News Agency reported that 鈥榚nemy aircraft launched a strike that targeted鈥� the Al-Hawsh area, also reporting a strike in Burj al-Shemali near the city, after Israeli army evacuation orders.
The Israeli military subsequently issued similar evacuation warnings for other locations in south Lebanon.
In the country鈥檚 east, the Israeli army for the first time issued evacuation orders for parts of the Bekaa Valley, after repeatedly pounding the region with intense air strikes over the past three weeks.
Meanwhile, Israel struck a Hezbollah target in Syria on Thursday, a war monitor said, and the United States used heavy bombers to hit rebel targets in Yemen nearly a month into the war in Lebanon.
Syria, the Huthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza all belong to the 鈥榓xis of resistance鈥� of groups aligned with Iran, which on October 1 conducted a missile strike on Israel.
Israel has vowed to retaliate for Iran鈥檚 strike, sparking concern around the world that what is already a war on multiple fronts could morph into an all-out regional conflict.
Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami on Thursday warned Tehran would hit Israel 鈥榩ainfully鈥� if it attacks Iranian targets.
According to Syrian state media, an Israeli strike on the city of Latakia, a stronghold of president Bashar al-Assad, wounded two civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the Israeli raid targeted a 鈥榳eapons depot belonging to Hezbollah鈥�.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strike when contacted by AFP.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years, including multiple recent attacks along the Lebanese border that seek to cut off Hezbollah鈥檚 main weapons and equipment supply route from Iran to Lebanon.
In Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Israel鈥檚 main ally the United States conducted multiple B-2 bomber strikes on weapon storage facilities, according to the US military and defence department.
The Huthis鈥� political bureau said 鈥榯he American aggression will not pass without a response鈥�, and vowed to continue the group鈥檚 鈥榮upport and assistance to Gaza and Lebanon鈥�.
Mohammed al-Basha, a US-based Middle East security analyst, said use of the heavy B-2 stealth bombers indicated Washington was stepping up its efforts against the Huthis.
鈥楾his operation signifies a shift in US policy, indicating a firmer stance against the group鈥檚 destabilising behaviour,鈥� Basha said.
The Gaza war began with Hamas鈥檚 October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed 42,438 people, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable.
In support of its ally Hamas, Hezbollah opened up a front against Israel by launching cross-border attacks from Lebanon last year.
The ensuing exchanges of fire forced tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.
Israel in late September widened the focus of its operations to Lebanon, launching massive strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country and on September 30 sending in ground troops.
On Wednesday, Lebanon said Israeli strikes killed 16 people, including a mayor attending a crisis meeting, in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, where Hezbollah and its ally Amal hold sway.
Rescue workers affiliated with Amal in the southern city of Qana were digging through the rubble of several buildings destroyed in a bombing this week.
鈥楳ore than 15 buildings have been completely destroyed, total destruction in a neighbourhood in Qana,鈥� said Mohammed Nasrallah Ibrahim, one of the rescuers.
The war in Lebanon has left at least 1,373 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.
Israel has faced criticism over its strikes in Lebanon, including from its tops arms supplier the United States.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Washington had told Israel its operations should 鈥榥ot threaten the lives of civilians鈥�, UN peacekeepers deployed in the country or the Lebanese military.
Following a string of incidents last week, the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission accused Israeli forces of 鈥榝iring at their watchtower鈥� in a 鈥榙irect and apparently deliberate鈥� manner.
The Israeli military said later that it was not targeting UN peacekeepers.
The United Nations has also warned about a growing number of attacks on Lebanese health care facilities.
A new ambulance was destroyed by an Israeli strike in a southern village last week, volunteer rescue worker Bachir Nakhal said.
鈥榃e weren鈥檛 expecting the ambulances to get directly targeted or bombed,鈥� he said.
The Israeli army has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters, without providing evidence.
In northern Gaza鈥檚 Jabalia, where almost the entire population is displaced, two hospitals said Israeli air strikes on a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 14 people, in the latest of multiple such incidents.
