In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Israel’s military launched a series of airstrikes against dozens of Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon overnight. The strikes come just a day after Israel unleashed a wave of air assaults on the Iran-backed group’s sites in Lebanon, marking the deadliest day in the country’s history in decades.
Hezbollah, in retaliation, claimed it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory located 60 kilometers inside Israel, using a barrage of rockets. The group stated that it struck the explosives factory around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) and targeted the Megiddo airfield three times throughout the night.
Israel, after a year of war against Hamas in Gaza, is now shifting its focus to its northern border, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets in support of Hamas. The Israeli military asserted that it struck a Hezbollah militant cell and used its artillery and tanks to target other Hezbollah positions in the south. Meanwhile, police in northern Israel reported finding fragments of interceptor missiles in various areas.
Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli airstrikes on Monday resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 people, forcing tens of thousands to flee for safety. Following some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since hostilities erupted in October with the outbreak of the Gaza war, Israel issued warnings to people in Lebanon to evacuate areas where it alleged the armed group was storing weapons. Families from south Lebanon rushed to load cars, vans, and trucks with their belongings, creating gridlocked highways heading north.
Nasser Yassin, the Lebanese minister coordinating the crisis response, told Reuters that 89 temporary shelters had been set up in schools and other facilities, with a capacity exceeding 26,000 people, as civilians fled what he termed “Israeli atrocities”.
Israel’s military reported striking Hezbollah in Lebanon’s south, east, and north, targeting rocket launchers, command posts, and militant infrastructure. The Israeli Air Force claimed to have hit approximately 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 492 deaths, including 35 children, and 1,645 injuries. One Lebanese official stated that this marked the highest daily death toll from violence in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.
