Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon and other parts of the country in recent hours have left at least 492 people dead and 1,645 wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said. Among the dead were at least 35 children and dozens of women. Thousands of people have fled their homes for fear of Israeli airstrikes.
These are the biggest attacks in years by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon, where the Shiite armed group Hezbollah operates, which in recent days has launched dozens of rockets into Israeli territory.
Israel said it launched an operation targeting some 1,300 Hezbollah targets in the region.
“The Israeli enemy’s attacks on towns and villages in the south since this morning have left hundreds of people dead, including children and women,” the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement.
Monday’s airstrikes are the latest in an escalation of Israeli operations against Hezbollah.
Last week, thousands of communication devices used by members of the Shiite militia exploded, causing dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries, in an attack that has been attributed to Israel.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel’s actions amounted to “a war of extermination.”
Hezbollah, for its part, responded over the weekend by launching some 160 missiles that hit urban areas in Israel.
The Lebanese Prime Minister said that Israeli attacks against his country are aimed at “eliminating Lebanese towns and cities.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “difficult days” lie ahead for the country.
His remarks came after a meeting at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, where he stressed that Israel does not wait for threats but rather “pre-empts” them, referring to his country’s recent attacks on southern Lebanon.
“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north. That is exactly what we are doing,” he said.
“Until we achieve our goals”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strikes would continue “until we achieve our goals: returning the residents of northern Israel safely to their homes.”
An estimated 60,000 people in northern Israel have fled their homes since cross-border violence flared last year.
The region has been gripped by escalating tensions since the Palestinian armed group Hamas’s incursion into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, which left nearly 1,200 people dead and 250 hostages.
Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas operates, has already left nearly 40,000 dead, many of them women and children, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health.
In recent weeks, however, Israel’s strategy has shifted to southern Lebanon, located on the country’s northern border.
“Serious concern”
As attacks between Israel and Lebanon have escalated, international actors have urgently called for both sides to cease hostilities.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a UN peacekeeping force, has expressed “grave concern” for the safety of civilians in southern Lebanon.
The head of the mission, General Aroldo Lazaro, has been in contact with the Lebanese and Israeli sides, insisting on the urgent need to reduce tensions.
“Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have devastating and far-reaching consequences,” he warned.
UNIFIL warns that attacks on civilians – by both sides – violate international law and could amount to war crimes.
Thousands of people in southern Lebanon are fleeing the area for safety. A family of four who arrived on a motorbike in the capital Beirut said they were from a village in the south and were trying to reach Tripoli in the north of the country.
“What do you want us to tell you? We just fled,” said the father of the family in anguish.
