Israel’s military urged residents of more than 20 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday as it pressed on with incursions after suffering its worst losses in a year of fighting the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.

The latest warnings took the number of southern towns subject to evacuation calls to 70 and included the provincial capital Nabatieh, suggesting another Israeli operation that could lead thousands more Lebanese to flee.

Israel says the aim of its operations in Lebanon is to allow tens of thousands of its citizens displaced by Hezbollah bombardment during the Gaza war to return home safely.

More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli attacks, the Lebanese government says.

The Lebanese army said two soldiers were killed by Israeli strikes in separate incidents in south Lebanon on Thursday, one in an attack on a military post and another in a strike on a rescue mission with the Lebanese Red Cross.

The army said that it returned fire when the military post was struck, a rare development for a force that has historically stayed on the sidelines of major conflict with Israel.

In Beirut’s southern suburb known as Dahiye, a dense neighborhood where Hezbollah holds sway, several explosions were heard on Thursday and several large plumes of smoke were rising after heavy Israeli strikes.

Hezbollah said it detonated an improvised explosive device against Israeli forces infiltrating a southern Lebanese village and attacked Israeli forces near the border.

Overnight, Israel bombed central Beirut in an attack the Lebanese health ministry said killed nine people.

Reuters witnesses reported hearing a massive blast, which targeted a building in the district of Bachoura a few hundred meters from parliament, the closest an Israeli strike has come to the central downtown district.

A Hezbollah-linked civil defense group said seven of its staff, including two medics, had been killed in the Beirut attack.

Israel also said it struck a municipality building in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, killing 15 Hezbollah members and destroying many weapons.

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in ground combat on Wednesday in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbor.

As it pushes into south Lebanon, Israel is also weighing its options for retaliation against its arch-foe Iran.

ISRAEL VOWS TO STRIKE BACK

The Islamic Republic launched its largest ever assault on Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and its operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Tehran said its attack was over, barring further provocation, but Israel has promised to hit back hard. The United States has said Iran would face “severe consequences” and that it would work with Israel to “make that the case” while warning Iran not to act against US forces in the region.

A growing number of countries were evacuating citizens from Beirut as governments worldwide urged their citizens to get out.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at an event in Doha, said Iran would be ready to respond and warned against “silence” in the face of Israel’s “warmongering.”

“Any type of military attack, terrorist act or crossing our red lines will be met with a decisive response by our armed forces.”

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called for serious ceasefire efforts to stop Israel’s “aggression” in Lebanon.

What is happening in the Middle East is a “collective genocide” he said at the same Doha event, adding that his country has always warned of Israel’s “impunity.”

The Lebanese border front opened after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza.

Iran’s other regional allies – Yemen’s Houthis and terrorist groups in Iraq – have also launched attacks in the region in support of Hamas.

SHELTERING IN A NIGHTCLUB

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed, including 127 children, and 9,384 injured since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the last year, the country’s health minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday.

Most of the deaths occurred in the last two weeks.

More than 300 of the more than 1 million Lebanese displaced have taken shelter in a Beirut nightclub, once known for hosting glitzy parties and where staff are now using their guest-list clipboards to register residents.

“We’re trying to keep strong,” said Gaelle Irani, who was formerly in charge of guest relations, taking a brief break from finding people a corner to live in.

“It’s just overwhelming. So overwhelming and sad. But just as this was a place for people to come enjoy themselves, it’s now a place to shelter people and we are doing everything we can to help and be there for them.”

Hassan Shaaban, a fisherman from Sidon, said he has been struggling to make a living as the fighting rages.

“What can we do, we need to be able to live, we are working while they are striking, yesterday night was very intense,” he said.

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