BEIRUT, October 16. /TASS/. Israeli Air Force fighter jets have once again attacked the southern outskirts and suburbs of the Lebanese capital, where facilities of the Shiite organization Hezbollah are based and where its supporters live; three strong explosions occurred in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, a source in the local civil defense service told a TASS correspondent.
"One of the strikes hit a building in the Shoura neighborhood, where Hezbollah's advisory council is located," the official noted. He added that this was the first Israeli Air Force raid on Beirut since October 10, when the Basta, Ras el-Nabaa, and Nweiri neighborhoods in the city center were attacked, resulting in 22 deaths and 117 injuries.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press office stated that Wednesday morning's attack destroyed an underground Hezbollah weapons depot in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The IDF emphasized that several measures were taken before the strikes to minimize the risk of harm to civilians, including providing advance warnings to the local population.
Earlier, the Israeli army command issued an urgent warning to residents of the southern neighborhoods, instructing them to evacuate several buildings that were about to be targeted by airstrikes. According to the army, 90% of residents have relocated from the southern suburbs to the central part of the capital and northern Lebanon since the beginning of October.