'Israel' keeps up Lebanon strikes as ground forces advance

• 'Israeli' strikes in Lebanon enter a fourth day, killing dozens and displacing thousands 
• Clashes with Hezbollah intensify along the border and in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

'Israel's' attacks on Lebanon entered a fourth day on Thursday, killing at least two according to state media, after 'Israeli' forces pushed into border towns and conducted air strikes allegedly targeting Hezbollah.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked 'Israel' in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-'Israeli' strikes over the weekend.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes early Thursday, including two in south Beirut.

'Israel's' military earlier told residents to leave the suburbs where the strikes were reported, warning it was about to attack targets it claimed were linked to Hezbollah. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Citing the health ministry, the NNA said that an 'Israeli' strike on an apartment in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, killed at least two people and wounded a third.

And on a road in south Lebanon, a drone hit a vehicle, killing three people, the NNA reported, without speculating who was behind the strike.

Another air strike hit a house in Tyre district, the NNA said.

'Israel' has not claimed any of the latest attacks reported by the Lebanese news agency.

Meanwhile, in 'Israel's' north near the border, repeated air raid alerts sent residents to shelters in several locations, with no immediate reports of impact or casualties.

Hezbollah's leader vowed Wednesday to keep up its fight against 'Israel' and step up attacks, saying the group had targeted 'Israeli' positions as far as Tel Aviv in at least 15 attacks.

"We are facing aggression... our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem declared in his first speech since the latest round of fighting broke out.

Lebanese authorities announced at least 72 people killed, 437 wounded and 83,000 displaced from their homes since Monday.

- 'Direct' clashes -

The 'Israeli' military told people living south of Lebanon's Litani river, a large area stretching around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border, to evacuate, warning that the army was "compelled to take military action" against Hezbollah there.

Under a November 2024 truce, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army may bear arms south of the Litani river. 'Israel' was supposed to withdraw all of its forces, but has kept troops in areas it deems strategic and conducted regular air strikes, citing Hezbollah's refusal to surrender arms.

On Tuesday, 'Israel's' military said it was creating a buffer zone inside Lebanon to protect 'Israeli' residents.

Troops from three divisions, including infantry, armoured and engineering units were operating in southern Lebanon, 'Israel's' army said late Wednesday.

AFP video footage showed what appeared to be two 'Israeli' tanks amid residential buildings in Khiam, about six kilometres (3.7 miles) north of the border.

The UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, reported 'Israeli' "movements and military activities" on the Lebanese side, adding in a statement that they violate Lebanon's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Hezbollah said its fighters had engaged 'Israeli' troops in "direct" clashes in Khiam, while 'Israel' said two of its soldiers had been "moderately injured" by anti-tank fire.

Meanwhile, an air strike hit a hotel in Hazmieh, the first reported 'Israeli' attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs, which is near the presidential palace and several foreign embassies.

Some rooms were gutted in the strike, and wounded people received treatment in the lobby, AFP images showed.

People fled through debris carrying suitcases past the Comfort Hotel's sign, which had fallen broken to the ground. It was not possible to determine who was targeted in the attack.

- Southern suburbs targeted -

A series of strikes on Wednesday hit Beirut's southern suburbs following evacuation warnings from 'Israel's' military.

One of the strikes targeted a building near a major hospital, according to an AFP photographer.

AFP footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising above buildings in the densely populated suburb, which some residents fled when the violence erupted on Monday.

In Aramoun and Saadiyat south of Beirut, two towns outside of Hezbollah's traditional sphere of influence, the health ministry said 'Israeli' strikes killed at least six people.

AFP footage from Aramoun showed damaged cars and rescue workers carrying a wounded person on a stretcher.

Strikes also targeted a four-storey building in the city of Baalbek, in Lebanon's east, far from the border where Hezbollah also has a strong presence.