Overnight Israeli attacks kill four people in Lebanon 

Overnight Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have killed at least four people, according to Lebanese state media and the government.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said on Sunday Israeli forces struck “an apartment in a residential building” in a northern district of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person and causing a fire.

To the southeast of Sidon, in the village of al-Qatrani, three people were killed in another Israeli attack, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

Israel is fighting a second front in the war in the Middle East in southern Lebanon, with its forces targeting the Hezbollah group, alongside the air campaign against Iran that it launched with the United States more than two weeks ago.

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that it continued to strike infrastructure used by Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, and hit several of its “launch sites” in al-Qatrani, where it said the Iran-backed group was preparing to fire missiles. It also said it destroyed “command centres” belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in Beirut.

The Israeli army also issued immediate forced evacuation orders for residents in several neighbourhoods in the Lebanese capital.

In a statement, army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged residents of Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Hadath, Burj al-Barajneh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir, and Shiyah “to leave immediately and not to return until further notice”, the Anadolu news agency reported.

He said the Israeli army would “forcefully operate” in these areas, citing what he called Hezbollah activities in the neighbourhoods. Adraee threatened “to target anyone present near Hezbollah facilities, personnel, or military equipment in those locations”.

Hezbollah said on Sunday it was also targeting several Israeli troop positions in villages close to the border.

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli air raids have killed 826 people in Lebanon since the start of the latest war, which began on March 2.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has proposed negotiations with Israel. But Israeli Foreign ⁠Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday ⁠the government was not planning to hold ⁠direct talks with Lebanon in the coming days.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday that Israel and Lebanon ⁠were expected to ⁠hold direct talks in the coming days.

A source close to Hezbollah told Al Jazeera the group has not received any serious initiative or offer for negotiations.

“Hezbollah’s position is important because any deal without its cooperation will be very difficult for the Lebanese government to implement,” said Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut.

“Lebanon’s president and prime minister are offering direct negotiations with Israel, and that’s a major concession because this is a very divisive issue in Lebanon, Israel being a longtime enemy.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week the Lebanese government was ready to engage in “direct talks” with Israel as he offered to host negotiations in Paris, warning that “everything must be done to prevent Lebanon from descending into chaos”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said Lebanese people have been “dragged into” a war, as he called for an end to the fighting amid Israel’s continued assault on several areas of the country.