Israeli strikes kill 492 in Lebanon – NBC New York

Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, in what Lebanese officials said was the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of a widening air offensive against Hezbollah.

As thousands of Lebanese migrate south, the main highway from the southern port city of Saida has been clogged with vehicles heading towards Beirut, marking the biggest wave of migration since 2006.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, were killed and 1,645 injured in the attacks – a serious single-day loss for a country still reeling from last week’s deadly attack on its communications equipment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Lebanese civilians to heed Israel’s calls to evacuate, saying: “Take this warning seriously.”

“Please get out of danger’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “When our operation is over, you can return home safely.”

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the army would do “everything necessary” to push Hezbollah away from Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Hagari claimed that widespread airstrikes on Monday had inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, but gave no timetable for the ongoing operation and said Israel was ready to intervene by land in Lebanon if needed.

“We are not looking for war. We are trying to eliminate threats,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes to accomplish that mission.”

Hagari said Hezbollah has launched around 9,000 rockets and drones at Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.

Israeli warplanes struck 1,300 Hezbollah targets on Monday, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and attack drones, a military spokesman said. He showed photos of the weapons, many of which he said were hidden in residential areas and stashed in private homes.

“Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a war zone,” he said at a press conference.

Israel estimates that Hezbollah has about 150,000 rockets and missiles, including guided missiles and long-range projectiles that can hit anywhere in Israel.

Earlier on Monday evening, the Israeli military said it had carried out a targeted attack in Beirut. It did not provide details. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that three missiles hit the Beir al-Abed district of southern Beirut. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said six people were injured.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said earlier attacks had hit hospitals, medical centres and ambulances. The government had ordered the closure of schools and universities in most of the country and begun preparing shelters for displaced people.

Some attacks hit residential areas in the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley, with one hitting a forested area as far away as Byblos, more than 80 miles from the border north of Beirut.

Israel said it had expanded its airstrikes to include parts of the valley on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Hezbollah has long had an established presence in the valley, established in 1982 with help from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel was preparing for the “next stages” of its operations against Hezbollah and that the airstrikes were “proactive”, targeting infrastructure that Hezbollah has built over the past 20 years.

Halevi said their aim was to enable displaced Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel.

The explosions came a day after pager bombings were reported in the country.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets toward Israel, including military bases. It also targeted the facilities of the Rafael defense firm, based in Haifa, for a second day.

The evacuation warnings were the first of their kind in nearly a year of escalating fighting and came after a particularly intense exchange of fire on Sunday, when Hezbollah fired about 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for attacks that killed a senior commander and dozens of fighters.

The escalating strikes and counterattacks have raised fears of all-out war as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and Hamas tries to negotiate the release of dozens of hostages taken in the October 7 offensive. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its attacks in solidarity with the Iran-backed militant group Hamas.

Associated Press reporters in southern Lebanon reported intense airstrikes on Monday morning targeting several areas, including areas far from the border.

Monday’s death toll far exceeded the number killed in a 2020 explosion at Beirut’s port, which killed at least 218 people and injured more than 6,000 when hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse exploded.

The Lebanese Health Ministry has asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley to postpone non-urgent surgeries to treat people injured due to “increasing Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”

Israel is focusing on air operations for now, an Israeli military official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, the official said the strikes were aimed at disrupting Hezbollah’s ability to launch further attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah leader says daily attacks on Israel will continue.

On Monday, text messages were sent to residents saying: “If you are in a building where Hezbollah weapons are stored, move away from the village until further notice.”

Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said a voice message was sent to his office in Beirut telling people to leave the building.

“This is happening within the framework of the psychological warfare carried out by the enemy,” Makary said, urging people not to “give this issue more importance than it deserves.”

Settlements on both sides of the border have been largely emptied due to almost daily clashes.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of turning entire communities in the south into militant bases with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure that could lead the Israeli army to carry out a particularly heavy bombing campaign even if no ground forces are mobilised.

A senior Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday.

Last week, thousands of communications devices, mostly used by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and injuring nearly 3,000, mostly civilians. Lebanon blamed Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny responsibility.

Hezbollah began firing on Israel a day after the October 7 attack, saying it was an attempt to neutralize Israeli forces to help Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and the fighting intensified.

Hezbollah says it will continue its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza, but that looks increasingly difficult as the anniversary of the war approaches.

Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 250. About 100 captives, a third of whom are thought to be dead, remain in Gaza after most of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says women and children make up just over half of those killed. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.