BEIRUT - Israel launched powerful airstrikes on southern Beirut late Thursday, targeting what it claimed were underground drone factories operated by Hezbollah. The attack triggered panic and forced mass evacuations in the area,

Israel launched its most extensive series of airstrikes on the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut on Thursday, as well as Ain Qana in south Lebanon, stating it targeted Hezbollah drone production and storage facilities.

A series of Israeli strikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, almost an hour after the Israeli army issued a forced evacuation order to residents in areas that it says held underground facilities used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah for drone production.