A wave of air raids hit Beirut's southern suburbs early on Saturday as Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, after a massive strike on the Iran-backed movement's command center that apparently targeted leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Witnesses heard more than 20 airstrikes before dawn on Saturday. Abandoning their homes in the southern suburbs, thousands of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.
"They want to destroy Dahiye, they want to destroy all of us," said Sari, a man in his 30s who gave only his first name, referring to the suburb he had fled after an Israeli evacuation order. Nearby, the newly displaced in Beirut's Martyrs Square rolled mats onto the ground to try to sleep.
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