Panic Grips Dahiyeh: Thousands Flee Beirut as Israel Orders Strikes | WATCH
Massive gridlock paralyzes Beirut's Dahiyeh district as thousands flee following Netanyahu and Katz's order for the IDF to resume airstrikes on Hezbollah.
A widespread, voluntary evacuation is underway in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, a notorious Hezbollah stronghold, following an explicit directive from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordering the IDF to resume strikes against terror targets in the Lebanese capital.
Massive traffic jams choked the exit routes of the southern suburb on Monday as thousands of residents fled the area in their vehicles. The panic ensued despite the fact that formal evacuation orders had not yet been issued by the IDF, as residents feared an imminent, devastating wave of airstrikes against the terror group's assets.
The exodus comes just hours after Netanyahu and Katz announced they had instructed the military to strike the Dahiyeh district due to "repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terror organization, and attacks against our cities and citizens."
"Together with the Defense Minister, I have instructed the IDF to strike terror targets in Beirut," Netanyahu said in a statement. "We will not tolerate a situation where Hezbollah attacks our cities and our citizens while its terror headquarters in Beirut's Dahiyeh remain off-limits."
"We are continuing to deepen our operations on the ground in southern Lebanon, dismantling Hezbollah strongholds. Hezbollah is on the run," the Prime Minister added. "We are determined to restore security to the residents of the north, just as we did for the residents of the south."
The joint directive marks the end of a nearly month-long period of operational restraint, during which Israel largely avoided striking the Dahiyeh district.
The pause was previously broken last Thursday, when the IDF launched a precision targeted strike against a building in Beirut to eliminate Ali al-Husseini, a senior operative holding dual roles within Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force who served as a commander in Hezbollah's missile unit. Prior to that, the last major strike in the capital took place on May 6, when Israeli fighter jets accurately leveled a high-rise floor in Dahiyeh, eliminating Radwan Force commander Malik Ballout during a senior-level operative meeting.