The Israeli army once again called on Thursday, April 9, the residents of several neighborhoods in southern Beirut to evacuate, warning of new strikes against the Islamist Hezbollah movement, an ally of Iran, following deadly bombings in Lebanon the previous day. “Urgent warning to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut (…) The Israeli army continues its operations and strikes military infrastructure of Hezbollah throughout the southern suburbs,” said Colonel Avichay Adraee, one of the spokespersons for the IDF. Follow our live updates.
In Lebanon, healthcare facilities “are unable to cope with the influx of patients.” Following Israeli strikes that killed 203 people on Wednesday, Elise Lesieur, director of international operations for Doctors Without Borders, warned about the fifty healthcare facilities that have been affected since March 2. “Hospitals are overwhelmed and struggling to respond to the influx of patients,” she explained. The NGO also mentioned the death of medical staff members. “Dozens of people, healthcare workers, have been killed.”
Israel will strike Hezbollah “wherever it is needed,” declares Benjamin Netanyahu. “Our message is clear: anyone attacking Israeli civilians will be struck. We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever it is needed, until we have fully restored security for the residents of the north of Israel,” threatened the Israeli Prime Minister. On Thursday, Israel reported killing the secretary of the Hezbollah leader, Ali Youssouf Harchi.
Hezbollah says it targeted Israel in response to its “violation of the ceasefire.” Believing to have “observed the ceasefire while the enemy did not,” the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement “targeted the Manara area [just across the border with Israel] with a barrage of rockets at 2:30 a.m. Thursday,” local time, according to Hezbollah, which had not claimed attacks against Israel since the announcement of the ceasefire between the US and Iran.
An Iranian delegation is set to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday for talks with the United States. The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, assured Iran’s presence “despite the skepticism of the Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by the Israeli regime aimed at sabotaging the diplomatic initiative.” “Serious talks based on the 10 points proposed by Iran” between Washington and Tehran are planned “this weekend” in Islamabad, he reiterated. US Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to visit on Saturday.
The US military will remain deployed near Iran until a “real agreement,” according to Donald Trump. “All ships, planes, and military personnel, with additional ammunition and weapons, will remain in and around Iran until the REAL AGREEMENT concluded is fully respected,” wrote the American president on his Truth Social platform, warning that otherwise, it “will fire harder than anyone has ever seen.”
