<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">A huge fireball lit up the night sky and plumes of smoke rose over south Beirut early Sunday as Israel unleashed intense air strikes targeting Hezbollah, nearly a year since the Gaza war erupted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israeli forces were on high alert ahead of Monday's anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack, which sparked the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a devastating year-long conflict in Gaza, Israel has now shifted its focus to northwards to Hezbollah, Hamas's Iran-backed ally in Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lebanon's official National News Agency said the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes, which were heard across the city. Targets included a petrol station.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's military said it "conducted a series of strikes on a number of weapons storage facilities" and infrastructure, stressing it had taken "numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AFPTV footage showed a massive fireball over a residential area of south Beirut, followed by a loud bang and secondary explosions. Smoke still billowed from the site after dawn.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Sabra area, near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments of the Israel-Hezbollah war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli forces with artillery after they tried to infiltrate towards Khallat Shuaib in Blida, in southern Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A statement said fighters fired a rocket barrage at Israeli troops during the evacuation of "dead and wounded soldiers" in the Menara border area shortly after midnight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah also said it launched assault drones against an Israeli military base.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- 'Ongoing threat' -</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahead of Monday's grim anniversary, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a televised briefing: "We are prepared with increased forces in anticipation for this day", when there could be "attacks on the home front".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militants resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One year later, Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas continues despite having shifted its focus to Lebanon and Hezbollah.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's military said it had killed around 440 Hezbollah fighters "from the ground and from the air" since Monday, when troops began "targeted" ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel says it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by almost a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran an "ongoing threat" after Tehran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East, on Tuesday launched around 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for Israeli killings of militant leaders including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The missile attack killed a Palestinian in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and damaged an Israeli air base, according to satellite images.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It came the same day Israeli ground forces began their raids into Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- 'Resistance won't back down' -</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One Israeli military official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue publicly, said the army "is preparing a response" to Iran's attack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted Iran had twice launched "hundreds of missiles" at Israel since April.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and to respond to these attacks and that is what we will do," he said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Netanyahu's critics accuse him of obstructing efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and deal to free hostages still held by Hamas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A senior Hezbollah source said Saturday the group had lost contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely tipped to be the next Hezbollah leader, after air strikes in Beirut.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The movement is yet to name a new chief after Israel assassinated Nasrallah late last month in a massive strike in Lebanon's capital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that "the resistance in the region will not back down".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Late Saturday Israel issued a new order for residents of southern Beirut to evacuate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Across Lebanon, strikes against Hezbollah have killed more than 1,110 people since September 23, according to a tally based on official figures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- 'Never-ending nightmare' -</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UN's refugee agency head Filippo Grandi said Lebanon "faces a terrible crisis" and warned "hundreds of thousands of people are left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israeli bombardment has put at least four hospitals in Lebanon out of service, the facilities said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it rejected a request by the Israeli military to "relocate some of our positions" in south Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Damascus Saturday after visiting Beirut, renewed his call for ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, while threatening Israel with an "even stronger" reaction to any attack on Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">French President Emmanuel Macron said it was time "that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza" and criticised Israel's decision to send ground troops into Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators tried unsuccessfully for months to reach a Gaza truce and secure the release of 97 hostages still held there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gaza's civil defence agency said Sunday an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir al-Balah killed 21 people, while Israel's military said it had targeted Hamas militants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahead of the October 7 anniversary, thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in London, Paris, Cape Town and other cities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's President Herzog said his country's October 7 "wounds still cannot fully heal".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>