Lebanon.. 27 martyrs and massive displacement after an Israeli warning to evacuate the city of Baalbek in preparation for bombing it

27 people were killed and 36 were injured in a series of Israeli raids on southern Lebanese towns, while the city of Baalbek (east) is witnessing a displacement movement following an evacuation warning, coinciding with drone strikes on cars on the outskirts of the capital, Beirut.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force launched raids on several areas, the most intense of which was on the border town of Khiam (south), with ongoing attempts to penetrate it.

Under heavy fire cover, Israel targeted the tents since the morning with 10 raids that ignited fires, to cover attempts to penetrate the town, with shelling from drones, heavy artillery and machine guns, according to the Lebanese News Agency.

The agency reported that rescue and rubble removal operations are continuing on Wednesday in the town of Sarafand (south), where Israeli aircraft targeted a residential building last night.

She explained that the bombing "caused a massacre of innocent civilians, killing about 15 martyrs, including the child Ali Hussein Khalifa (6 months). Rescue efforts are continuing, and it was reported that there are two women and a child under the rubble."

The scene on Wednesday morning in the Saida neighborhood (south) revealed great destruction as a result of an Israeli raid last night on the town that targeted two residential buildings, according to the agency.

She added: "Rescue and search operations continued throughout the night and into the early hours of this morning, with the final toll of this attack reaching 10 martyrs and 36 wounded."

The agency said that an Israeli raid targeted the town of Al-Ghandouriya (south) at night, which led to "the fall of two martyrs," while Israeli planes launched raids on Wednesday morning on the towns of Safad Al-Battikh, Shaqra, Al-Shaitiya, Majdal Zun, Tayr Harfa, Al-Jabbin, and Hanin.

Meanwhile, the outskirts of the towns of Labbouneh and Naqoura (south) were subjected to shelling from an Israeli warship, and warplanes launched 3 air strikes on the Al-Rahebat neighborhood in the city of Nabatieh, according to the agency.

Baalbek warning

In the city of Baalbek (east), the head of the regional civil defense center, Bilal Raad, revealed that he "received a phone call this afternoon on the center's landline from a spokesman for the Israeli occupation army, requesting the evacuation of the residents of Baalbek, Douris, and Ain Bourday," according to the agency.

The agency reported that "the city of Baalbek and the neighboring towns of Douris and Ain Bourday are witnessing a heavy displacement movement towards the Baalbek-Zahle and Baalbek-Deir al-Ahmar-Ainata-Arz roads towards the north."

She added: "While some decided to remain in their homes, ignoring the warning, in addition to those who are unable to leave because they do not have the means or financial ability."

Earlier, the Israeli army spokesman for the Arab media, Avichay Adraee, said via the X platform: "Urgent warning to the residents of Baalbek and (the towns of) Ain Bourday and Douris."

He added: "You must evacuate your homes immediately and move outside the city and villages" via axes he specified in an attached map, warning that the Israeli army "will act forcefully against Hezbollah's interests inside your city and villages," according to his expression.

After issuing evacuation warnings, the Israeli army usually launches intensive, bloody air strikes, a method it has followed since the start of the war on Lebanon on September 23, and before that during the ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip for more than a year.

According to the Lebanese agency, an Israeli drone targeted a van on the Arayya road east of Beirut, causing it to catch fire.

Another drone targeted a Rapid car with a missile in the Bchamoun area, south of Beirut, but its driver survived the bombing.

An Israeli drone also fired a missile at a car at the Aley-Qamatiyeh intersection, east of Beirut. No information was immediately available about these cars or who was inside them.

Threat to bomb Baalbek terrorism

Lebanese Minister of Culture, Mohammad Wissam Al-Murtada, considered on Wednesday that the Israeli army’s threat to bomb the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon confirms that Israel is like the terrorist movements that destroyed the Buddha statues.

This came during the minister's call with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in light of Israel's warnings to the residents of the city of Baalbek and two towns in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate in eastern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

The statement indicated that the minister "contacted the head of the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to UNESCO in Paris, Ambassador Mustafa Adib, and asked him to repeat the reviews and complaints he recently submitted to the director of the organization and those concerned there (regarding the targeting of archaeological areas)."

The minister called on the Security Council and the world's countries to "deter the Israeli enemy from carrying out its threat to bomb the Baalbek Citadel, which constitutes a global cultural heritage listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and which does not belong to Lebanon alone, but to all of humanity."

He considered that "the Israeli threat confirms that this entity is equivalent to the terrorist movements that destroyed the Buddha statues, and the civilized world should treat Israel on this basis."

Al-Murtada called on "all visitors to the castle, its workers and residents in its vicinity to evacuate it, not to be present in its vicinity, and to take all precautions and beware of the treachery of the aggression."

The population of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate is about 416 thousand people, and its center is Baalbek city, and its population is estimated at more than 100 thousand people, according to the Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The expected raids threaten the 3,000-year-old historic city of Baalbek, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Following previous raids during the current war, the “Dome of Doris” in the village of Doris, which is mainly inhabited by Lebanese Turkmen, was damaged. The dome was built using dilapidated Roman materials during the Ayyubid era.

The columns of this historic building, which was built in the 13th century, were damaged, and the stones began to fall under the weight of the fierce Israeli raids.

After clashes with factions in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, which began after Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the killing and wounding of more than 144,000 Palestinians, Tel Aviv expanded the scope of the genocide since September 23 to include most areas of Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, through air strikes, and also began a ground invasion in the south.

The aggression on Lebanon resulted in a total of 2,792 deaths and 12,772 injuries, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1.4 million displaced persons. Most of the victims and displaced persons were recorded after September 23, according to Anadolu Agency’s monitoring of the latest official Lebanese data announced until Tuesday evening.

Every day, Hezbollah responds by launching missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites, intelligence headquarters, military gatherings, and settlements. While Israel announces some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes a strict blackout on most of the losses, according to observers.

Israel has occupied Arab lands in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine for decades, and rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders before the 1967 war with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Source: Anadolu Agency