Beirut’s southern suburbs reduced to rubble by Israeli strikes

 In Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday, smoke was rising from buildings hit by overnight strikes while young men on mopeds sped along largely empty roads and residents grabbed what they could from their homes, some driving off with mattresses tied to car roofs.

Mohammed Sheaito, 31, one of the few not leaving, said that “during the night, the ground shook below us … and the sky lit up” from the force of the strikes.

“The area has become a ghost town,” said the taxi driver, who has sent his parents, his sister and her children – already displaced by Israeli bombing in south Lebanon – to safety elsewhere.

An area of tightly packed blocks of flats, shops and businesses, Beirut’s southern suburbs are also home to Hezbollah’s main institutions.

Israel says it is targeting sites belonging to the Iran-backed militant group, which was founded during the Lebanese civil war after Israel besieged the city in 1982.

A series of Israeli raids last week hit the southern suburbs – known as Dahiyeh – before a strike on Friday killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, with raids on the area increasing after that.

Thousands have fled the bombings because of Israeli army evacuation orders on social media posted ahead of some strikes.

Some are staying with relatives, and others in schools-turned-shelters in Beirut or in rented flats. Those with nowhere to go have been sleeping on the streets.

Mohammed Afif, the head of Hezbollah’s information office, told journalists on a media tour that all the buildings hit in Dahiyeh were “civilian buildings and are not home to military activity”.

A woman holds her cat in front of a destroyed building at the site of an Israeli air strike in Dahiyeh. At least five Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early on Wednesday, a Lebanese security source said, as the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah sites and issued several evacuation orders. [Hassan Ammar/AP Photo]

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in Dahiyeh, Beirut. [Hassan Ammar/AP Photo]

Firefighters work at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike in Beirut's southern suburb of Shayyah. [AFP]

Rescuers check the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb of Shayyah. [Anwar Amro/AFP]

Smoke rises from the site of an overnight Israeli air strike in Beirut's southern suburb of Hadath. [Ibrahim Amro/AFP]

People look at the damage in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Chiyah. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]

A destroyed vehicle is seen among rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in the Chiyah neighbourhood. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]

People survey the damage in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Chiyah. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]