Israel bombards Beirut's southern suburbs, Palestinian refugee camp

Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, blasting Beirut's southern suburbs with 12 airstrikes and hitting a Palestinian refugee camp deep in northern Lebanon for the first time.

Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.

Israel's attack on the Beddawi camp near Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli killed an official with Hamas's military wing, along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said.

Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.

Israel's military said it killed two senior officials with Hamas's military wing in Lebanon, where fighting has escalated in recent weeks. Israel has killed several Hamas officials there since the Israel-Hamas war began, in addition to most of the top leadership of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.

At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians and paramedics, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from homes in less than two weeks.

Plumes of smoke dominated the skyline over Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah commanders and military equipment and aims to drive the militant group away from its shared border.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas'sOct. 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel's military have traded fire almost daily.

Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.

Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the intense ground clashes that Israel says have killed 250 Hezbollah fighters. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006.

Israel's military on Saturday said about 90 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most were intercepted, but several fell in the northern Arab town of Deir al-Asad, where police said three people were lightly injured.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that "we are trying to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon." The minister did not name the countries putting forward initiatives, saying they include regional states and some outside the Middle East.

Araghchi spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised the country' recent missile strikes on Israel and said it was ready to do it again if necessary.

Fleeing Lebanon on foot

At least six people were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to the National News Agency, a Lebanese state-run new outlet.

Nearly 375,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria, fleeing Israeli strikes, in less than two weeks, according to a Lebanese government committee.

Associated Press journalists saw thousands of people continuing to cross the Masnaa border crossing on foot, crunching over the rubble after Israeli airstrikes left huge craters in the road leading to the crossing on Thursday. Much of Hezbollah's weaponry is believed to come from Iran through Syria.

Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut's famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes.

"We don't care if we die, but we don't want to die at the hands of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," said Om Ali Mcheik.

Canada continues evacuation flights

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadian citizens still in Lebanon on Saturday to sign up for special evacuation flights, which have already helped more than 1,000 leave as security there deteriorates.

Canada has 6,000 signed up to leave and officials are trying to reach another 2,500 over the weekend, an official in Trudeau's office said, adding that more flights were being added for Monday and Tuesday.

"We've still got seats on airplanes organized by Canada. We encourage all Canadians to take seats on these airplanes and get out of Lebanon while they can," Trudeau said at a summit of leaders from French-speaking countries in France.

WATCH | Why some Canadians are choosing to remain in Lebanon:

'We can't force anyone to leave' Lebanon: ambassador

2 days ago

Duration 10:08

Global Affairs reports hundreds of empty seats on Canadian chartered flights leaving Lebanon, despite months of officials warning Canadians to flee the area. Canada's Ambassador to Lebanon Stefanie McCollum explains what's happening on the ground and why some Canadians are choosing to stay.

The Israeli military said special forces were carrying out targeted ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads and weapons storage facilities. It said troops dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.

More evacuation orders in Gaza

Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the Health Ministry there, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Almost 90 per cent of Gaza's residents are now displaced, amid widespread destruction.

Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza on Saturday killed at least nine people.

One in the northern town of Beit Hanoun killed at least five people, including two children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Another hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four, the Awda hospital said.

The Israeli military did not have any immediate comment but has long accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas.

An Israeli airstrike killed two children in Gaza City's Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the civil defence first responders' group that operates under the Hamas-run government.

Israel's military warned Palestinians to evacuate along the strategic Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, which was at the heart of obstacles to a ceasefire deal. The military told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, a coastal area it has designated a humanitarian zone.

It's unclear how many Palestinians are in the areas ordered evacuated. Israeli forces have often returned to areas in Gaza to target Hamas fighters as they regroup.