West Asia crisis: Hezbollah warns Israelis to stay away from army sites in residential areas in nation's north

Iran-aligned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Friday (Oct 11) warned Israelis to stay away from Israeli army sitesin residential areas in the north of the country.

In a statement, Hezbollah said that the "Israeli enemyarmy uses the homes of Israelis in north Israel, and has military bases inside residential neighbourhoods in major occupied cities such as Haifa, Tiberias, and Acre."

It further warned Israelis "from being near these military gatherings in order to preserve their lives."

After almost a year of cross-border fire, Israel has increased its strikes on what it says are Lebanese militant group Hezbollah sites since September 23.

Israel steps up offensive in Lebanon

Hezbollah's warning to Israelis came as the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Lebanon. On Thursday, two Israeli air strikeskilled 22 people and wounded 117 in central Beirut, Lebanese health authorities said. The attacks targeted a Hezbollah official, but security sources said he had survived.

Wafiq Safa, who heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, was targeted byIsraelon Thursday night but survived, the news agency Reutersreported citing security sources.

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Israeldid not issue evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes and had not previously attacked the area, Reuters reported.

'Where do we go?'

Residents of the central Beirut areawere still in shock on Friday amid the dust, rubble and broken glass, fearing that if their previously untargeted neighbourhood had been struck, nowhere inLebanonwas safe.

"God alone knows what the next target will be. It is terrifying. In the north, it's scary. In the South, it's scary. In the East, it's scary. In the West, it's scary. Where do we go?" a resident named Hoda Adly told Reuters.

Amer El Halabi, 55, who lived in the same building as Adly, said many displaced people had moved into their neighbourhood and feared that Israel was using claims that Hezbollah members were among them as a pretext to expand its strikes.

"These are all residential buildings that people have been residing in for over 30 years. Where is their conscience when they kill 22 people? For what? There is no humanity left," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)