JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said late Thursday (Mar 5) it had begun striking infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, after earlier warning residents of the area to evacuate.

“The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Dahiyeh area in Beirut,” the military said.

Hezbollah said on Friday that Israel’s “aggression” would not go unchallenged.

Israel’s warning sent people fleeing from the area, with massive traffic jams on the outskirts of the suburbs, as people fired guns in the air, urging locals to leave as soon as possible.

On a Beirut beach, hundreds of families, many of them scared and angry, milled around after fleeing in haste, having nowhere else to go.