Beirut, March 4, (dpa/GNA) – Israeli forces entered the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, about 6 kilometres from the Israeli border, on Wednesday amid heavy artillery shelling and intensified airstrikes across southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.
“The town of Khiam is witnessing continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli enemy army has penetrated the town,” the report said.
Residents south of the Litani River said they received urgent messages, instructing them to evacuate immediately.
The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X that civilians living south of the Litani must head north, warning that the army was “compelled to take military action” against Hezbollah in the area.
The Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings to residents of nearly 30 towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
Mohamed, a resident from an area south of the Litani, told dpa that his family fled at dawn. “We left this morning with nothing. I just took my children and left as the airstrikes intensified,” he said.
Mohamed sought refuge in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut. He said his two daughters had suffered severe burns during the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel. “I do not want them to die this time,” he said.
A Lebanese military source told dpa that around 30 strikes were carried out within 15 minutes on areas south of the Litani.
The source added that airstrikes typically intensify ahead of a ground incursion, as forces seek to clear their path.
Hezbollah said it responded by firing rocket salvos at an Israeli patrol.
The Israeli military said several projectiles launched from Lebanon were intercepted, and reported no casualties.
Meanwhile, fear and uncertainty gripped Beirut, where residents worried the strikes could expand beyond Hezbollah strongholds.
Nadine, a doctor in the capital, warned that Lebanon’s healthcare system could face severe strain if the bombardment escalates.
“Hospitals are not fully prepared for a wider war,” she said.
The Health Ministry reported that an Israeli airstrike hit a building adjacent to Bahman Hospital in the Haret Hreik district of Beirut’s southern suburbs, causing significant damage.
Shattered glass injured several hospital staff members, and panic inside the facility led to fainting and distress among patients.
The ministry urged the protection of medical facilities under international law and the Geneva Conventions.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli strikes hit a hotel and residential complex on the outskirts of Beirut near the presidential palace, an area previously spared from the violence.
The attack injured five people, one critically, the hotel owner told dpa.
The critically injured person is a woman who worked at the hotel’s reception desk, he said, adding that the hotel had been sheltering people who had fled Israel’s attacks in the Beirut area, the owner said.
The Israeli military announced in the morning that it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut, saying further details would follow.
Fighter jets continued to bomb the southern suburbs of the capital throughout the morning, according to witnesses.
Israel also continued its attacks in other parts of Lebanon. An airstrike on a residential building in Baalbek in the eastern Lebanon killed six people and injured 15 others, according to official reports.
Strikes in the coastal town of Saadiyat and other locations killed six people and injured eight more, according to the health ministry.
The Lebanese Health Ministry on Tuesday said that at least 50 were killed and over 300 have been injured in Israeli strikes since Monday.
GNA