BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israel said on Tuesday that it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit in a bombing in Beirut, as the Israeli army and the Lebanese political-paramilitary group exchanged fire again and the death toll from the Israeli offensive rose to nearly 560 people.
Military officials said that Ibrahim Kobeisi, whom they considered responsible for rocket attacks against Israel, was killed in an airstrike over Beirut. They said that Kobeisi, who joined Hezbollah in the 1980s, planned the attack in 2000 in the Israeli region of Mount Dov where three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and killed.
Other commanders were with Kobeisi at that time, the army indicated, but did not say if they were also killed or injured.
The Israeli bombing has caused thousands more to flee from southern Lebanon and has left both sides on the brink of total war.
Displaced families spent the night in makeshift shelters in schools in the capital, Beirut, and in the coastal city of Sidon. With hotels crowded or rooms at prices out of reach for many families, those who could not find shelter slept in cars, parks, or by the seaside.
Issa Baydoun fled from the village of Shihine in southern Lebanon when it was bombed and arrived in the capital in a convoy of vehicles with his entire family. After finding out that the shelters were full, they spent the night in their own cars on the side of the road.
"We had many problems on the road to get here," he stated. Baydoun rejected the Israeli claim that they only attack military targets.
"We evacuated our homes because Israel is attacking civilians," he pointed out. "That's why we left our homes, to protect our children."
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that one of its employees and her young son were among the dead on Monday in the Bekaa region, and that a cleaner hired by that agency died in a bombing in the south. The husband of another employee and one of their children were seriously injured.
Some Lebanese people offered empty apartments or rooms in their homes in social media posts, while some volunteers set up a dining area in an empty gas station in Beirut to prepare food for the displaced; the place had previously operated as a volunteer center following the devastating port explosion in 2020.
In the eastern city of Baalbek, the National News Agency reported lines at bakeries and gas stations as residents rushed to stock up on basic goods in anticipation of another possible round of attacks on Tuesday.
At the border crossing with Syria, massive traffic jams were recorded as people tried to flee to the neighboring country.
Hezbollah said that during the night they fired missiles at eight points in Israel, including an explosives factory in Zichron, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the border.
The Israeli army said on Tuesday morning that 55 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel, causing fires and damage to buildings. The Galilee Medical Center, a hospital in northern Israel, reported receiving two patients with minor head injuries after a rocket fell near their vehicle. Several others were being treated for minor injuries sustained while running to shelters or in traffic accidents when the air raid sirens went off.
Military authorities reported dozens of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets, including a cell that launched rockets overnight, and stated that targets near the border were hit with tanks and artillery.
They also stated that they had carried out a "selective attack" in Beirut, without providing further details. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that six people died and 15 were injured in the attack in a southern neighborhood, an area where Hezbollah has a strong presence. The country's National News Agency said the attack destroyed three floors of a six-story apartment building.
The renewed hostilities occurred following the historic clashes on Monday, which saw the highest number of fatalities in a single day in Lebanon since the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Israel said it attacked Hezbollah weapons depots. Satellite fire-tracking data from the United States analyzed on Tuesday by The Associated Press showed the wide range of Israeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon, in an area of more than 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles).
Experts often use the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System to track wildfires in rural areas of the United States. But it is also used to track fires that follow airstrikes, especially when a projectile ignites flammable material on the ground, such as ammunition or fuel.
The data collected on Monday shows significant fires throughout southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. In several areas, there were multiple and intense fires, such as in the vicinity of the southern coastal city of Naqoura, which hosts a United Nations peacekeeping mission base in the region. Other fires were also reported in rural areas or villages.
Israel and Hezbollah seem to be on the brink of a new war after a constant escalation of tensions over the past 11 months. The militia has been firing rockets, missiles, and drones towards northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians and their ally Hamas, an insurgent group also supported by Iran, in Gaza.
Hezbollah is the strongest political and military actor in Lebanon and is widely considered the main paramilitary force in the Arab world.
Israel has responded with increasingly intense airstrikes and the selective assassination of Hezbollah commanders, while also threatening to launch a broader operation.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the southern part of the country on Monday after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of areas where it accuses Hezbollah of placing its missile launchers and other weapons, in the largest exodus since the one-month war 18 years ago.
The Ministry of Health of Lebanon said that the attacks recorded since Monday claimed the lives of at least 558 people, including 50 minors and 94 women, and left over 1,800 injured, a staggering number in just one day in a country still recovering from the deadly attacks against communication devices recorded last week.
Almost a year of cross-border attacks had already emptied the communities closest to the border, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has promised to do everything possible to ensure that its citizens can return to their homes in the region, while Hezbollah stated that they will continue their attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza, something that seems increasingly distant.