Intense Israeli bombing of Beirut 'like an earthquake'
· RTE.ieA fireball lit up the sky and smoke billowed over Beirut as Israel unleashed intense strikes targeting Hezbollah, almost a year since the Hamas attack that sparked Israel's war in Gaza.
In Gaza, Israel's military said it encircled the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza after indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of devastating air strikes and fighting.
As another strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati appealed to the international community to put pressure on Israel for a ceasefire.
Israel is on high alert ahead of tomorrow's anniversary of Hamas' unprecedented 7 October attack which triggered the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Israel has now turned its focus northwards to Hezbollah in Lebanon and has vowed to avenge an Iranian missile attack.
Lebanon's official National News Agency said Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold was hit by more than 30 strikes, with a petrol station and a medical supplies warehouse also hit.
"The strikes were like an earthquake," said shopkeeper Mehdi Zeiter, 60.
Israel's military said it struck weapons storage facilities and infrastructure while taking measures "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".
AFP footage showed a massive fireball over a residential area, followed by a loud bang and secondary explosions. Smoke still billowed from the site after dawn.
In the Sabra area, near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments of the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Hezbollah said it fired rockets at Israeli forces during a casualty evacuation, used artillery at another site in the south and launched assault drones on an Israeli military base.
Lebanon's education minister said the start of the new school year was being postponed until 4 November because of "security risks".
'Major moment of jeopardy' - Taoiseach
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said this is "a major moment of jeopardy" in the Middle East and added that it is "most important that there is a de-escalation".
He has thanked the Irish men and women who are deployed on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, who he said are "serving with absolute distinction".
"Our peacekeepers, I want to thank them publicly, are doing a great service, and I want to thank them for their bravery, their commitment and their determination to their task."
Mr Harris said there are 30 Irish troops at an outpost that "is in a location that is the subject currently of a lot of violence and a lot of fighting".
"Obviously, from an operational point of view, that's monitored very closely and very carefully as to what is the safest thing to do."
"But at the moment, the advice is that the safest and best thing to do is for the mission to continue."
However, the Taoiseach said he wanted to assure the people of Ireland and most particularly, the families of the peacekeeping troops, that "the safety of the troops is kept under constant review."
'Ongoing threat'
Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a televised briefing: "We are prepared with increased forces in anticipation for this day", when there could be "attacks on the home front".
Last year's 7 October attack on Israel by Palestinian militants resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
One year later, Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas continues despite the focus shifting to Lebanon and Hezbollah.
The military claimed it had "encircled" the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza after intelligence detected "efforts by Hamas to rebuild its operational capabilities".
The army also claimed it had killed about 440 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon "from the ground and from the air" since Monday, when troops began "targeted" ground operations.
Israel said it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by almost a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran an "ongoing threat" after it launched around 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in revenge for Israeli assassinations of militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Iran's attack killed a Palestinian in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and damaged an Israeli air base, according to satellite images.
It came the same day Israeli ground forces began raids into Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds.
'Resistance won't back down'
One Israeli military official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue publicly, said the army "is preparing a response" to Iran's attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted Iran had twice launched "hundreds of missiles" at Israel since April.
"Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and to respond to these attacks and that is what we will do," he said in a statement.
Netanyahu's critics accuse him of obstructing efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and deal to free hostages still held by Hamas.
A senior Hezbollah source said the group had lost contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely tipped as its next leader, after air strikes in Beirut.
The movement has yet to name a new chief after Israel assassinated Mr Nasrallah late last month in a massive attack on Lebanon's capital.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that "the resistance in the region will not back down".
Across Lebanon, strikes against Hezbollah have killed more than 1,110 people since 23 September, according to a tally based on official figures.
'Never-ending nightmare'
UN's refugee agency head Filippo Grandi said Lebanon "faces a terrible crisis" and warned "hundreds of thousands of people are left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes".
Israeli bombardment has put at least four hospitals in Lebanon out of service, the facilities said.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it rejected a request by Israel's military to "relocate some of our positions" in south Lebanon.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Damascus yesterday after visiting Beirut, renewed his call for ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, and threatened Israel with an "even stronger" reaction to any attack on Iran.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators tried unsuccessfully for months to reach a Gaza truce and secure the release of 97 hostages still held there.
Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir al-Balah killed 26 people. Israel said it had targeted Hamas militants.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,870 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory's health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.
Ahead of the 7 October anniversary, thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in London, Paris, Cape Town and other cities.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog claimed his country's 7 October "wounds still cannot fully heal".
Additional reporting Fergal O'Brien
As the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 2024 approaches, listen to 'Drivetime In-Depth, War in Gaza' - available on RTÉ.ie/radio or wherever you get your podcasts: Drivetime In-Depth: War in Gaza - RTÉ Podcasts