BEIRUT/CAIRO, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes late on Sunday, with multiple explosions heard in the Lebanese capital, as Israel prepared to attack sites linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s financial operations group and asked people to leave these areas immediately.

Reuters witnesses saw thick black clouds of smoke rising in the air after at least ten explosions. Eyewitnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a building in the Chiyah neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs was reduced to rubble and the few people in the area fled the explosion, resulting in no injuries.

There was no immediate information about the cause of the explosions or further details about any casualties. Panicked crowds clogged streets and caused traffic jams in some parts of Beirut as they tried to get to neighborhoods considered safer, witnesses said.

An Israeli military spokesman had previously said in a statement on the social media platform

There was no immediate comment from the organization, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.

Asked by journalists whether the branches could be considered military targets, a senior Israeli intelligence official said: “The purpose of this attack is to impair Hezbollah’s economic viability, both during the war and afterward, to rebuild and rearm. “the day after.”

In early October, Israel launched a ground attack in Lebanon to stabilize the border region for its citizens fleeing rocket attacks in northern Israel.

Escalated attacks

Israel is also preparing to retaliate against an Iranian missile fire earlier this month, although Washington has urged not to attack Iranian energy or nuclear facilities.

According to the Israeli military, warplanes killed three Hezbollah commanders.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the attacks, but said it fired rockets at Israeli forces in Lebanon and at a base in northern Israel.

A 41-year-old Israeli colonel was killed and another officer was injured in a fight in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan reported that an explosive device exploded under a tank.

Following an Israeli attack on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya that left 87 people dead or missing, according to the Health Ministry on Saturday, officials said rescuers were still pulling people out of the rubble – one of the highest death tolls since months in a single attack.

The attack came two weeks after a major raid around Jabalia, south of Beit Lahiya, where Israeli troops said they were trying to wipe out remaining Hamas fighters.

Israel said the attack hit a Hamas target and questioned the death toll of 73 previously released by the Hamas media office.

In the attack on Israel on October 7 last year that sparked the war in Gaza, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 42,500 people and left most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people homeless, Palestinian officials say.

Lebanese authorities estimate that more than 2,400 people were killed and more than 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon last year. According to Israeli authorities, 59 people were killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights during the same period.

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A senior correspondent with nearly 25 years of experience covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including multiple wars and the signing of the first historic peace agreement between the two sides.