Batbricks7

The Israeli military intensified its strike in Lebanon early Thursday (Nov 7) after four strikes targeted Beirut's southern suburbs.

The Israeli army called residents of south Beirut to leave, including from a location near Lebanon's international airport.

Earlier, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had urged residents of four south Beirut neighbourhoods to evacuate, posting maps on social media that included an area near the Beirut airport.

Israel and Iran-aligned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have exchanged fire for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.

But fighting has escalated since late September, with Israel intensifying bombing on swathes of Lebanon's south and east and making ground incursions into border villages.

40 killed in Wednesday's strikes in Lebanon

Citing the Lebanese health ministry, a report by the news agency AFP on Thursday said that a series of Israeli strikes on the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek killed 40 people and injured 53 others.

Rescuers in Baalbek were seen searching for survivors under the rubble after a strike on the poor neighbourhood.

News agency AFP reported that the city's famous Palmyra hotel had also been damaged in nearby strikes, with the health ministry reporting two people had been killed there.

The health ministry also said that an Israeli strike killed 16 people in the village of Nasriyah.

Hezbollah targets naval bases in Israel

The above developments came as Hezbollah claimed a slew of attacks on Wednesday, including two that targeted naval bases near the Israeli city of Haifa and two near Tel Aviv.

In a statement, the militant group said that it targeted "the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa with a salvo of high quality missiles and a squadron of attack drones."

It was the fourth attack on the base in as many weeks, AFP reported.

Later Wednesday, Hezbollah said it launched "attack drones on the Haifa naval base in Haifa Bay, for the first time."