JERUSALEM: At least 274 people, including 21 children and 31 women, were killed and 1,024 wounded in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Monday (Sep 23), the country's health minister said during a press conference.
After some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since the conflict flared, Israel warned people to evacuate areas where it said the armed group was storing weapons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel faced "complicated days" as it stepped up attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and called on Israelis to stay united as the campaign unfolded.
"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 in a message following a situational assessment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Earlier, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the actions would continue until "we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes", setting the stage for a long conflict as Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Lebanon's health minister said at least 274 people had been killed, including 21 children and 31 women, and 1,024 were wounded.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that more than 300 Hezbollah targets had been struck so far after earlier warning that airstrikes were imminent on houses in Lebanon where "Hezbollah hid weapons".
Reuters could not independently verify Israel's allegation that Hezbollah had stored weapons in homes and villages.
In response, Israel's arch foe Hezbollah said it had targeted a military base in northern Israel with dozens of missiles.
MORE AIRSTRIKES EXPECTED
Another round of attacks was expected. Israeli aircraft are preparing to attack Hezbollah strategic weapons stashed in houses in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, the Israeli military spokesperson said, calling on civilians to evacuate immediately.
"The sights now from south Lebanon are of secondary explosions of Hezbollah weapons, which are exploding inside houses. In every house we are attacking there are weapons. Rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles that were meant for and aimed at killing Israeli civilians," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
Hezbollah has not commented on the Israeli claims it hid weapons in houses.
The air strikes have intensified pressure on Hezbollah, which last week suffered an attack its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah called “unprecedented in the history” of the group, after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded.
The operation was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
In another major blow, an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb on Friday targeted senior Hezbollah commanders, killing 45 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Hezbollah said 16 members of the group were among the dead, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and another commander, Ahmed Wahbi.
The fighting has raised fears that the United States, Israel's close ally, and Iran will be sucked into a wider Middle East war. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the Israeli strikes. "There will be dangerous consequences to the new adventure of the Zionists," he said.
One person was slightly hurt by shrapnel from the latest rocket barrage at northern Israel, according to the Israeli ambulance service.
Imad Kreidieh, the head of Lebanese telecoms company Ogero, told Reuters on Monday that more than 80,000 automated calls asking people to evacuate their areas were detected on the network. Not all were answered. Lebanon's Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi opened schools in Beirut, the northern city of Tripoli and in the south as shelters amid "heavy displacement" of citizens, his office said in a statement.
Evacuation calls have been received on phones as far as the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/wor...-lebanon-warns-move-hezbollah-targets-4625236
After some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since the conflict flared, Israel warned people to evacuate areas where it said the armed group was storing weapons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel faced "complicated days" as it stepped up attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and called on Israelis to stay united as the campaign unfolded.
"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 in a message following a situational assessment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Earlier, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the actions would continue until "we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes", setting the stage for a long conflict as Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Lebanon's health minister said at least 274 people had been killed, including 21 children and 31 women, and 1,024 were wounded.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that more than 300 Hezbollah targets had been struck so far after earlier warning that airstrikes were imminent on houses in Lebanon where "Hezbollah hid weapons".
Reuters could not independently verify Israel's allegation that Hezbollah had stored weapons in homes and villages.
In response, Israel's arch foe Hezbollah said it had targeted a military base in northern Israel with dozens of missiles.
MORE AIRSTRIKES EXPECTED
Another round of attacks was expected. Israeli aircraft are preparing to attack Hezbollah strategic weapons stashed in houses in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, the Israeli military spokesperson said, calling on civilians to evacuate immediately.
"The sights now from south Lebanon are of secondary explosions of Hezbollah weapons, which are exploding inside houses. In every house we are attacking there are weapons. Rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles that were meant for and aimed at killing Israeli civilians," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
Hezbollah has not commented on the Israeli claims it hid weapons in houses.
The air strikes have intensified pressure on Hezbollah, which last week suffered an attack its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah called “unprecedented in the history” of the group, after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded.
The operation was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
In another major blow, an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb on Friday targeted senior Hezbollah commanders, killing 45 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Hezbollah said 16 members of the group were among the dead, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and another commander, Ahmed Wahbi.
The fighting has raised fears that the United States, Israel's close ally, and Iran will be sucked into a wider Middle East war. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the Israeli strikes. "There will be dangerous consequences to the new adventure of the Zionists," he said.
One person was slightly hurt by shrapnel from the latest rocket barrage at northern Israel, according to the Israeli ambulance service.
Imad Kreidieh, the head of Lebanese telecoms company Ogero, told Reuters on Monday that more than 80,000 automated calls asking people to evacuate their areas were detected on the network. Not all were answered. Lebanon's Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi opened schools in Beirut, the northern city of Tripoli and in the south as shelters amid "heavy displacement" of citizens, his office said in a statement.
Evacuation calls have been received on phones as far as the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/wor...-lebanon-warns-move-hezbollah-targets-4625236
