Residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold on the outskirts of the capital, began leaving their homes and seeking other places to stay, fearing a war with Israel, Lebanese security sources and locals told dpa on Friday.
“I am not afraid for myself, but for my children,” said a resident of the Beir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Another resident said he was looking for a furnished apartment outside the capital so he and his children would be safe.
A Lebanese security source said “the situation is very worrying”.
Interim Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday that Lebanon’s medical supplies would last for four months in the event of war.
Meanwhile, Lebanese hospitals are preparing for a possible war with Israel.
The head of the Private Hospital Syndicate, Sleiman Haroun, told dpa that “all private hospitals are prepared.”
“We have trained medical personnel and conducted maneuvers in hospitals to be ready for war,” he said.
He added that they have medical supplies but was concerned about whether the supplies would be sufficient, saying that they should be as long as Beirut airport and port remain open.
The fears arose after Israeli forces killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on Tuesday evening in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
A few hours later, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing and immediately threatened retaliation.
Israel has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.
“Our response is coming,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday at the funeral of Shukr, the group’s top military commander and head of operations in southern Lebanon.
