Attacks on Hezbollah targets by fighter jets continued Saturday after the army said it told residents to evacuate three buildings it was targeting, as Israel braced for Hezbollah’s response.

The tally of people who have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict escalated less than two weeks ago range from 700 to 1000, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Smoke was still rising from Beirut’s southern suburbs Saturday morning, visible to many of the families who had fled their homes there the night before to escape Israel’s massive bombardment.

Many looked in vain for space in one of the overflowing schools-turned-shelters. By the morning, hundreds of families were sleeping in public squares, on beaches or in cars around Beirut.

Lines of people trudged up to the mountains above the Lebanese capital, holding infants and a few belongings.

The people escaping Friday night’s mayhem joined tens of thousands who have fled to Beirut and other areas of southern Lebanon the past week to escape Israel’s bombardment.

The United Nations says the number of those displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled and now stands at more than 211,000. At least 20 primary healthcare centres have shut down in hard-hit areas of Lebanon, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had joined the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and many other countries to call for a ceasefire in Lebanon and urged Israel to listen to the international community.

“It is true that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation. It is true that they have not been complying with UN Security Council resolutions, but we see the horrific loss of life in Gaza, we see 11,000 children killed. The world does not want to see more civilian deaths,” she told Sky News on Sunday morning.

Wong said the “end game” for the current conflict in the Middle East had to include a two-state solution to ensure peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“What the international community is saying is that civilians must be protected, aid workers must be protected.”

Wong once again urged any Australians still in Lebanon to leave “by whatever means are available”, amid fears the conflict will escalate further.

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Israeli strike that killed Nasrallah was a “measure of justice” for victims of a four-decade “reign of terror”.

US Vice President Kamala Harris earlier called Nasrallah “a terrorist with American blood on his hands”, while urging a diplomatic solution to stem the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

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In Iraq, on Saturday local time, hundreds of protesters tried to cross into the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where the US Embassy is based, in anger over Nasrallah’s assassination in the Israeli airstrike.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have periodically launched drone attacks on bases housing US troops in protest over Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Late on Wednesday (US time), the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations. Israel said Thursday that discussions were ongoing and Hezbollah hasn’t officially responded to the ceasefire proposal, but has said it won’t stop firing until the Gaza war ends.

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Hezbollah began striking Israel a day after Hamas’ October 7 attack in an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but more than half the dead have been women and children, including about 1300 children under the age of 2.

Israel has maintained that its military operations are justified and necessary to defend itself.

“This war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages,” Netanyahu told the UN on Saturday (US time). “But if they don’t, if they don’t, we will fight until we achieve total victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it.”

His speech impacted the rest of the General Assembly

In an address steeped in talk of conflict, Netanyahu also made a lengthy appeal for Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia, echoing the content of his speech last year, when efforts toward that goal were underway.