Monday 23 / September / 2024
Beirut: Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday have killed 274 people and injured over 1,024 as Israel says 800 sites targeted in its most widespread attacks in the country since the onset of the conflict.
The death toll included 21 children and 39 women, with many other victims having not been identified yet, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad announced in a press conference, noting that the wounded were transferred to over 27 hospitals across the region.
"The attacks resulted in the displacement of thousands of families from the targeted areas," the minister said, adding the Israeli raids targeted hospitals, medical centers, and ambulances.
According to sources from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, the cities of Tyre, Nabatieh, and Iqlim al-Tuffah have witnessed a massive displacement of residents towards Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The main roads linking these areas to Beirut were crowded with hundreds of civilian cars.
In this context, the Disaster Unit in the Union of Municipalities of Tyre District demanded that public and high schools be opened to accommodate the displaced.
The Israeli attacks also prompted the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to ask all its civilian employees to leave with their families to safe areas north of the Litani River, according to Elnashra news website.
Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes on Monday carried out more than 300 air raids on large areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, targeting around 60 towns in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement, "In response to the enemy's attacks that targeted areas in the south and the Bekaa Valley, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombed the reserve headquarters of the Israeli army's northern corps, Galilee Division Reserve Base, and its stores of logistics at Ami'ad Base as well as Rafael's military-industrial complexes in Zevulun area, north of Haifa with dozens of missiles."
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said the strikes targeted civilian buildings where Hezbollah allegedly hides rockets, missiles, launchers, drones, and other military infrastructure.
Israel's military issued a warning on Monday afternoon that it was about to attack sites in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah is allegedly storing strategic weapons, urging civilians to evacuate.
"Distance yourself from houses where weapons are located, for your own protection," Hagari said during a press briefing in the afternoon, adding that the attack would begin shortly without providing further details.
This marked the second warning from Hagari on Monday, following an earlier message in the morning for residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, as Israel planned airstrikes targeting homes allegedly storing Hezbollah's cruise missiles.
Since Monday morning, Hezbollah has launched more than 100 rockets into northern Israel, including near Haifa, one of Israel's largest cities, the military said in a statement.
At least five missiles were launched toward the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area approximately 100 km from Lebanon, which has not been targeted before during the ongoing conflict.
The military said its aerial defense systems intercepted some of the projectiles, while others fell within Israeli territory, causing fires. Five people were injured by shrapnel, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
In the recent escalation, following a week of deadly Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Israel called on residents to evacuate ahead of large-scale airstrikes.
"We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement. "The actions will continue until we achieve our goal of returning northern residents safely to their homes," he added.
Gallant urged the Israeli public to remain calm in the face of potential escalated attacks by Hezbollah in the coming days. "These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure," he noted.
Also on Monday, Lebanese media reported that the death toll from Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday rose to 54, with around five citizens still missing.
Elnashra news website quoted the civil defense team as saying that search and rescue efforts are still underway at the site of the collapsed building in the Jamous area in southern Beirut, where Ibrahim Akil, acting commander of the elite Radwan force, and 14 other Hezbollah commanders were killed.
While addressing the cabinet in a meeting on Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the continuous Israeli "aggression" on Lebanon is "a war of extermination," according to a statement released by the Council of Ministers.
Mikati called on the United Nations and the international community to "stand up and deter aggression."
"We renew our commitment to Resolution 1701, and we work as a government to stop the new Israeli war and avoid falling into the unknown as much as possible," he said. ■
