Israeli airstrikes hit the southern suburb of Beirut on Friday, the first such attacks since a ceasefire was agreed last November, Reuters reports.
Shortly after the airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted "a drone storage facility" belonging to Hezbollah near the Lebanese capital.
Before the airstrikes, the IDF issued an evacuation alert on social media, advising Lebanese civilians to leave a 300-meter area around the site. IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared a map marking the location and urged residents to evacuate immediately.
Witnesses reported scenes of panic as families fled their homes, with some evacuating schools in haste. Children were seen leaving in pajamas, fearing further strikes.
"We are working here at the factory, and they sent a warning that they would bomb here first. We are next to a school, and the kids started coming out. Of course, they were terrified. They bombed the area three times," said a Beirut resident.
"People panicked, especially because there are two schools next to each other, and the area is always crowded at this time. So people rushed to take their children," said another resident.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday called the first Israeli strikes on south Beirut since the ceasefire agreement a "dangerous escalation", a statement from his office said.
Following the attacks, the Lebanese Ministry of Education ordered the closure of all public and private schools, secondary institutions, vocational centers, and the Rafik Hariri University Complex near the affected area.
Earlier in the day, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, including the town of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF said one was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system while the other fell within Lebanese territory.
A senior Hezbollah official told Lebanese media that the organization was not involved in the firing of the two rockets into northern Israel.
