Smoke rises over Daya, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after overnight Israeli airstrikes on 3 October 2024. Photo: Adallah Dalsh/ Reuters

The Israeli Air Force carried out targeted strikes on several Hezbollah command centres in Daya, a southern Beirut suburb known to be a stronghold of the terrorist organisation. The strike came after Israel warned local residents to evacuate southern Beirut, in particular from the Haret Kreik neighbourhood, which is one of Hezbollah’s main centres, The Jerusalem Post reports.

According to the Israeli army, the strikes were based on intelligence. On Monday morning, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Avihai Adrai warned residents of Haret Kreik via Twitter to immediately evacuate their buildings and stay at least 500 metres away from them for security reasons.

These strikes were part of a larger military operation aimed at neutralising threats from Hezbollah, which is active in the region, especially on the southern outskirts of Beirut.