JERUSALEM (AP) — At least 100 people died and more than 400 were injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, making it the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict began in October. The Israeli military said on Monday that it had hit more than 300 targets, in one of the most intense rounds of airstrikes in almost a year of fighting against Hezbollah.
Before the escalation with a wave of beeper explosions began last Tuesday, around 600 people had died in Lebanon since October, mostly fighters but also over 100 civilians.
The Israeli army announced the social media campaign, with a photo supposedly showing the army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, authorizing additional attacks from the army headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah stated in a press release that they had launched dozens of rockets at an Israeli military outpost in Galilee. They also attacked for a second day the facilities of the defense company Rafael, which is headquartered in Haifa.
How were the attacks by Israel in Lebanon?
On Monday morning, Israel urged the population in southern Lebanon to evacuate homes or any other buildings where it claimed there were Hezbollah weapons, and stated that the army would carry out "extensive attacks" against the political and military group.
It was the first warning of its kind in almost a year of a conflict that has been escalating gradually, following a particularly intense exchange of fire on Sunday in which Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israel in retaliation for recent attacks that killed a senior commander and dozens of his fighters.
The escalation of attacks and counterattacks has increased the fear of an open war as Israel continues to combat the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and tries to recover dozens of hostages captured in the October 7 attack. Hezbollah has promised to continue its attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, who like the Lebanese group receive support from Iran, while Israel says it is committed to restoring calm to the border.
The National News Agency, a Lebanese state media outlet, reported that the attacks had hit a wooded area in the central province of Byblos for the first time since hostilities began in October. Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern regions of Baalbek and Hermel, where a shepherd was killed and two relatives were injured, according to the news agency.
An Israeli army official said that the country is focusing on air operations and does not have immediate plans for a ground operation, and that the attacks aimed to end Hezbollah’s ability to launch new projectiles at Israel.