Israel issues new evacuation call for south Lebanon villages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel’s “precise and powerful” strikes on Iran successful, as the IDF pounded targets in Gaza and Lebanon. Follow for updates.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel’s “precise and powerful” strikes on Iran were a success, as his country’s forces pounded targets in Gaza and Lebanon.

The previous day’s strikes by Israeli planes on military targets in Iran had fed fears that the Middle East was spiralling towards an even wider conflict and triggered global calls for restraint.

But Iranian leaders said the strikes had caused only limited damage and killed four soldiers, while Netanyahu stressed that the raids had served their purpose of avenging an earlier Iranian missile barrage against Israel.

“The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives,” Netanyahu said, in a speech marking the official Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

Israel’s strikes were in retaliation for an October 1 attack by Iran, which fired about 200 missiles at Israel, though most were intercepted by the country’s air defences.

Netanyahu said: “We kept our promise. The air force attacked Iran and hit Iran’s defence capabilities and missile production.”

His speech was interrupted by shouting from relatives of victims of the Hamas attack in the crowd. Netanyahu stood silently for more than a minute during the ceremony, which was broadcast live.

There has been public and diplomatic pressure on the Israeli premier’s administration to do more to strike a deal to secure the release of the remaining captives held in Gaza.

Emergency responders inspect the debris at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the Haret Saida area, next to southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Picture: AFP

Despite talk of negotiations, Israel continued to fight in Gaza and Lebanon. Dense smoke hung over the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday after a night of bombardment in the southern suburbs, while there were reports of strikes in and around the southern cities of Sidon, Tyre and Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least eight people were killed and 25 others wounded near Sidon.

The Israeli military said early on Sunday it had killed 70 Hezbollah fighters and struck 120 targets in southern Lebanon, while losing four of its own soldiers in ground fighting. It warned residents that they must evacuate more villages said to be housing Hezbollah sites.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Awali River,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a social media post. The Awali is the northern border of Lebanon’s southern governorate.

A man inspects the debris and damage at the site of overnight Israeli air strikes that targeted Beirut's southern suburb of Hadath on October 27. Picture: AFP

In Gaza, which UN human rights chief Volker Turk says is facing its “darkest hour”, Israeli forces are again carrying out a ground and air campaign in the north that they say aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

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