THE ISRAELI MILITARY has said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in several areas of southern Lebanon overnight.
“Overnight …the IAF (air force) struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in numerous areas in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement, adding that its artillery and tanks struck additional “terrorist targets” in the area of Ayta al-Shab and Ramyeh.
Yesterday, Israeli air strikes killed at least 492 people, including 35 children, the health ministry said, marking the deadliest day of cross-border violence since the Gaza war began.
Hezbollah said Ali Karake, its third-in-command, was alive and had moved to safety after a source said the strike on the capital targeted him.
The group had launched “volleys” of missiles at Israeli military sites, after state media reported new raids in eastern Lebanon.
People in Israel’s coastal city of Haifa were seen running for cover on Monday when air raid sirens sounded.
Explosions near the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Qatar Airways has suspended flights to Beirut until Wednesday due to the bombardment.
Global powers urged Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the brink of all-out war, as the violence shifted from Israel’s southern border with Gaza to its northern frontier with Lebanon.
France and Egypt called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene, while Iraq requested an urgent meeting of Arab states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the strikes hit combat infrastructure Hezbollah had been building for two decades.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called Monday “a significant peak” in the operation.
“This is the most difficult week for Hezbollah since its establishment –- the results speak for themselves,” he said.
“Entire units were taken out of battle as a result of the activities conducted at the beginning of the week in which numerous terrorists were injured.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was acting to change the “security balance” in the north.
US President Joe Biden, whose country is Israel’s main ally and weapons supplier, said Washington was “working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely”.
The Pentagon said it was sending a small number of additional US military personnel to the Middle East after thousands were deployed earlier alongside warships, fighter jets and air defence systems.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity at the UN General Assembly, said that Washington opposed an Israeli ground invasion targeting Hezbollah and had “concrete ideas” on how to de-escalate the crisis.
G7 foreign ministers said in a joint statement that “no country stands to gain” from escalating conflict, warning of “unimaginable consequences” if a regional war broke out.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell warned that Israel and Hezbollah were “almost in full-fledged war”, ahead of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
UN chief Antonio Guterres was “gravely alarmed” by civilian casualties in Lebanon, his spokesman said.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon warned “any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have far-reaching and devastating consequences”.
Qatar, a mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks, said Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon “puts the region on the brink of the abyss”, while Turkey said the strikes threatened “chaos” and Jordan urged an immediate end to the escalation “before it is too late”.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the strikes and ordered Palestinian medical staff in Lebanon to provide support for the wounded.
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