Strikes hit south Beirut after Israeli army warning

BEIRUT, Lebanon — New air raids struck Beirut's southern suburbs in rapid succession on Sunday, AFPTV footage showed, a day after heavy bombardment as the Israeli army said it targeted Hezbollah sites.

Three strikes hit separate locations in the morning, sending thick clouds of white smoke over the targets, the footage showed.

It followed a sustained Israeli assault on the same area on Saturday.

Shortly before the latest strikes, the Israeli army warned people to leave Hadath, Burj al-Barajneh and Chiyah, saying they were near "Hezbollah sites and assets".

Lebanon's official National News Agency said "enemy aircraft" launched a heavy strike near St. George's Hospital in Hadath.

Another attack hit a residential building near Mar Mikhail church in Chiyah, the NNA said.

At dawn, the Israeli army targeted villages in southern Lebanon, including seven strikes on Jebchit in less than two hours, the news agency added.

Hezbollah said meanwhile that it had engaged in overnight fighting with Israeli forces near Chamaa, about five kilometers (three miles) from the border with Israel.

The clashes reportedly went beyond the frontier villages.

Since September 23, Israel has ramped up its air campaign in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah over the Gaza war