Israel strikes Beirut, US warns Iran may hit Lebanese universities

By Maya Gebeily and Ahmed Tolba

BEIRUT, April 3 (Reuters) – Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes on Friday that the military said had targeted militant “infrastructure” in Lebanon’s capital, as the U.S. warned that Iran may target universities in the country as the Middle East war rages. 

Israel has invaded southern Lebanon and pledged to raze all Lebanese villages in the border area in a fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has become the most violent spillover of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

It has also frequently struck Beirut, particularly its Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. Earlier on Friday, Israel’s military warned residents to leave seven neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs, warning of impending strikes. 

Reuters reporters heard three loud blasts echoing across the city on Friday around sunset, a time when many in the country – home to Muslims and Christians – were marking Good Friday despite the escalating hostilities. 

Lebanese media outlets said the strikes had hit the southern suburbs. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Israel’s military said it was “striking terror infrastructure in Beirut”, without providing details. 

US WARNS OF ATTACKS ON UNIVERSITIES

Israel has pledged to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River as part of a “security zone” it says is aimed at protecting its own northern residents. 

More than a million people have fled the area as well as other parts of the country, with families fleeing Israeli strikes saying they were exhausted by repeated rounds of conflict. 

Israel launched its campaign after Hezbollah fired into Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran after the U.S. ​and Israel began joint strikes against Iran. The conflict has since spread with Iranian strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states.

This week, Iran warned it would retaliate against U.S. universities in the region after its universities were struck in attacks. Taking security precautions, the American University of Beirut moved classes online on Monday and Tuesday. 

On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Beirut warned that “Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target universities in Lebanon”.

The embassy repeated a warning for U.S. citizens to leave the country. 

UN PEACEKEEPERS INJURED

More than 1,300 people have been killed ​in Israeli strikes and about a fifth of Lebanon’s population has been displaced. Israel has issued evacuation orders covering around 15% of Lebanese territory.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese have remained in their homes in southern Lebanon, even as Lebanese troops withdraw from the area to avoid confronting Israeli troops.

They include around 9,000 Lebanese Christians living in a cluster of border towns, who told Reuters they were determined to stay despite the advancing military operations.

Also on Friday, three peacekeepers with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon were injured, two of them seriously, in an explosion inside a U.N. position in an area of southern Lebanon near the border, UNIFIL’s spokesperson said. 

The source of the explosion was not known, the spokesperson said. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident. Three UNIFIL peacekeepers were killed earlier this week. 

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo;Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)