Middle East on Boil: Explosions Rock South Beirut; Sirens Blare Along Israel’s Coast | Top Points

New Delhi: Middle East continues to remain on the boil as the conflict between Iran and Israel has further widened with both sides stepping up their attacks, raising the likelihood of an all-out war in the region. In the latest on Sunday, sirens blared in Israel's northern town of Arab al-Aramshe, issuing a warning of a hostile drone infiltration. Further, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) conducted a series of precision strikes on Hezbollah weapons depots and terror infrastructure in Beirut overnight.

Additionally, Israel continued to ramp up bombings in Lebanon on Saturday, striking Beirut's southern suburb with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp in the north for the first time. The escalation in attacks came as the Israeli media reported that the military was gearing up for a “significant” attack on Tehran after it launched about 200 missiles on Israeli targets earlier this week. 

Here are the latest updates on the Lebanon crisis:

• Amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, sirens blared along Israel’s coast on Sunday morning, the IDF wrote in a post on X.

• Israel launched fresh strikes in Beirut against Hezbollah on Saturday. 
• The IDF also discovered and dismantled a tunnel used by Hezbollah's Radwan Forces in southern Lebanon, located a few metres away from Israel border. The IDF claimed, "This tunnel was designated to be used in an invasion by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces into Israel."
• The Israeli attacks on Saturday night in Beirut sent booms across the city and trigerred flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes. These came amid days of bombings by Israel of Beirut - which is considered a stronghold for the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
• According to Israeli military, more than 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed so far since it launched ground operations inside southern Lebanon. "Since the beginning of the (ground) manoeuvre, forces have eliminated some 440 terrorists from the ground and from the air, including 30 commanders of various ranks," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.
• Amidst the ongoing operations, the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to residents to flee Beirut's southern suburbs. "For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate the designated buildings and those adjacent to them and move away from them at least 500 meters," spokesperson Avichay Adraee said. 
• According to media reports, Hashem Safiddine, the likely successor and cousin of slain Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israel strike, has gone missing Friday. In its offensive against the Iran-backed Lebanese millitant group Hezbollah, Israel carried out a large strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday night that may have eliminated Safiddine.
• Lebanon saw mass exodus of people, including Palestinian refugees, as Israeli strikes displaced thousands. People continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the Gaza was trigerred by Hamas' October 7 attack.
• The IDF claimed that they dismantled a 250-meter long terrorist tunnel in southern Lebanon on Saturday. According to the Israeli military, the tunnel was designated to be used in an invasion of Israel by Hezbollah's Radwan Forces. Hezbollah embeds its terrorist facilities under residential buildings, endangering civilians. Israel is dismantling these threats while taking steps to avoid civilian harm.

Meanwhile, a high alert is in place in Israel a day before the first anniversary of Hamas' October 7 terror attack - which claimed lives of over 1,200 Israelis and led to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Ahead of October 7, 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”.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt on arms supplies to Israel for use in Gaza and criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's decision to send troops into ground operations in Lebanon.

In response, Netanyahu called Macron's remarks a “shame”. “As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel's side. Yet President Macron and some other western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. Shame on them. Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, on the Houthis, on Hamas and on its other proxies? Of course not. The axis of terror stands together, but countries that supposedly oppose this terror axis call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace,” Netanyahu said.