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A number of displaced Lebanese residents erected tents along the shoreline as Israeli strikes continue to pound the country. Many Muslims in the country are still fasting for Ramadan.

The majority of those displaced in shelters have come from Beirut's southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.

The war has displaced nearly 700,000 people in just nine days, the UN said yesterday, since Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2.

After being forced to flee their homes amid ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon, around 100,000 people are in organized shelters.

Many others are staying with friends, family or are on the streets.

What people in Iran are telling us about the war

What they are doing carries great risk. A 40-year-old Tehran resident says the state has sent threatening text messages warning citizens of the consequences of sharing photos or videos inside the country of strike damage. It will be considered "co-operating with the enemy," the texts reportedly say, in a country known to make frequent use of capital punishment.

"They are using every tool to create fear and terror," a 35-year-old Iranian woman said of the texts.

More than one person has recounted a heavy security presence within Tehran, with masked security forces with guns controlling access at checkpoints in the capital.

Smoke from strikes on oil depots and energy facilities have made breathing difficult for those who venture out.

"The sound of the explosions are terrifying and they make our windows shake. We go stand in a corner for safety," a woman from Tehran said. Others have had to flee their residences.

Amid the chaotic conditions, some are still hopeful for an eventual outcome that will liberate Iranians.

"Many people in Iran are now willing to sacrifice their lives so this regime does not remain in power," a 47-year-old Iranian man said.

The Iranian government has imposed limits on foreign journalist movements inside the country, but witnesses reported to The Associated Press continuous airstrikes hitting Tehran after Israel said it had renewed its attacks.

An administrative building ​linked to Bank Sepah, one ⁠of ⁠the country's largest ‌public banks, was struck overnight in the capital, according to Iran's Mehr news agency. A spokesperson for Tehran's Khatam ​al-Anbiya military command headquarters warned residents to stay 1,000 metres away from banks. The spokesperson also warned that Iran will target economic and banking interests linked to the ‌U.S. And Israel in the region, according to a Reuters report.

There are also reports of attacks outside of Tehran in the north. Officials from the Shahid Khalij‑e Fars Hospital in Bushehr on the southwestern coast told Al Jazeera that the medical facility is out of service due to heavy damage sustained in attacks.

More than 1,300 Iranians have been killed since the U.S. And Israeli attacked the country beginning on Feb. 28, according to Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since his elevation, and state media has referred to him as a "wounded veteran," raising the possibility he was injured on the first day of the conflict. Khamenei's wife and his father, the longtime supreme leader, were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Reuters

A Sri Lankan court has ordered that ‌the bodies of 84 sailors killed ​in an attack ​on an 

Iranian warship off the ​island nation's coast ⁠last ⁠week ‌be handed over to the embassy of Iran, local ⁠media reported on Wednesday.

The warship, IRIS Dena, ‌was hit by a torpedo from a U.S. Submarine in ​the Indian ⁠Ocean while it ⁠was returning from ⁠a naval ⁠exercise ​organized by India, amid ​the ⁠U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Reuters

The Israeli military says it has begun extensive waves of attacks on Beirut and Iran simultaneously.

In Lebanon, an Israeli ‌strike hit an apartment block in central Beirut on Wednesday, Lebanese authorities said, further widening Israeli attacks in the capital.

Footage showed heavy damage to ⁠two floors of the apartment block ⁠in Beirut's Aicha Bakkar neighbourhood, and smoke rising from the ‌building. Four people were wounded in the strike, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Israeli operations since March 2 had mostly focused on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, an offensive that began after the militant group opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader two days earlier.

Israel kept up heavy strikes on the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, overnight and into Wednesday, sending towers of smoke billowing across the skyline. Israel has ordered residents of Dahiyeh to leave, along with residents of a swathe of southern Lebanon ​and parts of the east.

After fleeing their homes, ⁠around 100,000 ⁠people are in organized shelters, many others are ​staying with friends, family or are on the streets.

Israeli strikes have killed nearly 600 people in Lebanon, ​and uprooted 700,000 more, Lebanese authorities say. 

The U.S. And Israel continued to pummel Iran with strikes Tuesday while Iran vowed to fight on despite its diminished firepower. The war has killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Hostilities also continue to disrupt oil and natural gas exports as concerns mount over shortages if the critical Strait of Hormuz does not open soon. 

Here's what to know about the conflict: 

Canadians fleeing war in Middle East arrive in Saudi Arabia

Two more busloads of tired, anxious and slightly bewildered Canadians and permanent residents just arrived here after evacuating overland from Kuwait.

They are some of the 871 people Canada has helped get to a safe third country. So, not home, but out of the most acute danger.

The first person to greet the 58 people off one bus was Canada’s ambassador here, Jean-Pierre Linteau.

"Welcome, you are safe," he said repeatedly.

Linteau, wearing a high-visibility vest with "Canada" written across the back, was surrounded by staff members entertaining kids, offering treats and kindness. 

He told us Canada has planned for a scenario just like this since last June, when Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war.

"We've prepared for the movement of Canadians from Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain because the only place that they can go if the airspace is closed is Saudi Arabia. So, we were ready for this."

While those arriving gathered their bags and stretched their legs, we talked a bit about how hard it is to know when you have to leave. 

"We are confused, we don't have a plan for the future. We have left our cars, our houses, all our stuff," said Ayman El Zein, a Canadian doctor from Kuwait.

The consensus seemed to be that all of them would have preferred to have stayed, but as the violence ramped up they worried their window to escape was narrowing. 

So, they made the hard choice, just to leave. When they return — who knows?

Canadian-Iranian historian Arash Azizi says Trump might be right when he says the war will end soon — at least for now. 

But Azizi, author of What Iranians Want, says it's just wishful thinking to assume Trump and Netanyahu will hand the keys of power to the current regime's opposition. Nor is it likely that, in the aftermath of war, the Iranian people will rise up and topple the regime. 

"Iranians have not united," he said. "They have not built a political platform that unites them."

Despite this, Azizi still dreams of a future where Iran has a true democracy. 

"I will continue to fight for democracy all my life," he said.

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