The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command center in Dahiyeh, the military confirmed on Saturday evening.
The strike is an effort by the IDF to damage Hezbollah's weapons storage and manufacturing facilities that are embedded beneath residential buildings in the heart of Beirut and harming civilian populations, the IDF stated.
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli fighter jets were reported to strike the area of Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut that is a known Hezbollah stronghold, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
This report follows the warnings issued by IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee, who told residents of specific areas of Beirut, specifically in Haret Hreik, located near Dahiyeh, to evacuate in a post to X/Twitter on Saturday.
Additionally, later on Saturday, Adraee cautioned residents to evacuate from the area of Bourj el-Barajneh, located between Haret Hreik and the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المباني المحددة في الخريطتيْن والواقعة في حارة حريكأنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء هذه… pic.twitter.com/JhfeEIwB0T
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 19, 2024
These statements warned residents to avoid facilities affiliated with Hezbollah, noting that the IDF would operate in those areas.
These buildings and neighboring buildings should be immediately evacuated and residents should stay at least 500 meters away, the spokesperson wrote.
The United States would like to see Israel scale back some of its strikes in and around Beirut, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.
"The number of civilian causalities has been far too high," he said. "We would like to see Israel scale back some of the strikes in and around Beirut, and we would like to see a transition to negotiations that would allow civilians on both sides to return to their homes."
Reuters contributed to this report.