Update: 70 Rockets From Lebanon Hit Israel

Israel’s military said Hizbullah launched around 70 rockets toward Israel since midnight, with many launches coming from southern Lebanon. ‘After midnight last night, around 70 rockets were launched toward Israel,’ Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters on Friday (6 March). He claimed that since Israel began strikes on Lebanon earlier in the week, Israeli forces have hit more than 500 targets across Lebanon and killed 70 Hizbollah fighters. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the Israeli assaults in the country since Monday had killed a total of 217 people, most of them civilians. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) urged Israel to immediately cancel mass-evacuation orders in Lebanon, warning such orders could trigger a humanitarian catastrophe as hundreds of thousands flee their homes. In an email statement to Al Jazeera, the group said they estimate around 300,000 people had fled in less than 100 hours since Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon, Beirut, and other parts of the country. ‘Families who have only just begun to rebuild their lives are now forced to flee again,’ said Maureen Philippon, NRC’s country director in Lebanon. ‘People are leaving their homes in the dead of night with only the clothes they are wearing. Once again, civilians pay the highest price. If implemented, the latest Israeli evacuation order could trigger a humanitarian crisis not seen in more than two years.’ The NRC warned that the number of people forced to flee could exceed 1 million if the order is fully implemented. (Al Jazeera) If combined with attacks on residential buildings, Israel would be worsening the misery and suffering of an already weary civilian population. Hizbullah said the strikes were in response to Israel’s criminal aggression targeting dozens of towns and settlements in Lebanon, including the southern outskirts of Beirut. Syria has deployed thousands of troops and rockets to the border with Lebanon to prevent weapons smuggling and militia infiltration amid the escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Rosatom said it had evacuated nearly 100 people from Iran. If paired with attacks on residential buildings, Israel adds to the misery and suffering of civilians already fatigued. The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, accused the US and Israel of carrying out strikes targeting a primary school in Niloufar Square, Tehran. The people of Lebanon can count on our full support and humanitarian aid for thousands of refugees. Investor risk-off sentiment stemmed from the Middle East escalation and high US Treasury yields driven by expectations of elevated Fed rates. Iran claimed Israel was behind a drone attack on Azerbaijan. Iran’s IRNA reported that Israel has a history of carrying out such operations to sow discord.