Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Escalates: Over 490 Dead in Lebanon Airstrikes

Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

Israel launches widespread attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon

On Monday, Israel escalated its military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, resulting in at least 490 fatalities and over 1,650 injuries from extensive airstrikes targeting more than 1,300 sites, particularly in southern regions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to evacuate for their safety, while the Israeli military conducted targeted strikes in Beirut, accusing Hezbollah of storing weapons in civilian areas. In retaliation, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israeli military targets, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict that has intensified since the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for American citizens in Lebanon, and officials from the U.N. and U.S. called for restraint to prevent a wider conflict, as humanitarian concerns grow amidst the rising casualties on both sides.

Key Concepts

• Israel has intensified military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, resulting in significant casualties and injuries.
• Extensive airstrikes have targeted over 1,300 sites, leading to at least 490 fatalities, including many women and children.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Lebanese civilians to evacuate for their safety amid ongoing military actions.
• The conflict has caused thousands to flee southern Lebanon, disrupting transportation and access to Beirut.
• The Israeli military conducted targeted strikes in Beirut, accusing Hezbollah of storing weapons in civilian areas.
• Hezbollah retaliated by launching rockets at Israeli military targets, escalating the conflict further.
• The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for American citizens in Lebanon due to the rising tensions.
• U.S. officials emphasize the need for restraint from both Israel and Hezbollah to prevent an all-out war.
• Humanitarian agencies are concerned about the potential consequences of a wider conflict in the region.
• The ongoing Gaza war has resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with a high toll on civilians.

Israel expanded its war on Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants on Monday, killing at least 490 people and wounding more than 1,650 in new massive airstrikes that raised fears of an all-out war.

The Israeli military said it struck more than 1,300 targets, while Lebanon’s state news agency reported heavy attacks in several areas in the south of the country. Lebanese health officials said 35 children and 58 women were among the dead.

The Israeli military warned residents of Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley to stay away from Hezbollah’s arms supply depots.

“We will continue to monitor Hezbollah’s preparations on the ground to proactively thwart attacks on Israeli territory, and we are systematically expanding our strikes against Hezbollah,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters.

In a recorded message to Lebanese civilians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to heed Israel’s call to evacuate, saying they should “take this warning seriously.”

“Please get out of harm’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “As soon as our operation is over, you can return to your homes safely.” Thousands of people have fled southern Lebanon, blocking the main highway leading north to Beirut.

The Israeli military said late Monday that it had carried out targeted strikes in Beirut, but did not provide details.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through a spokesman that he was “truly alarmed by the escalating situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border,” especially the large number of civilian casualties and thousands of displaced people.

Israeli spokesman Hajari said in a video message that the Israeli army’s actions were in response to signs that Hezbollah was preparing to fire on Israeli territory.

He said Hezbollah was storing missiles, drones and other weapons in civilian areas, and he also said Israel was advising Lebanese citizens to evacuate areas where Hezbollah was located.

“We are taking action to achieve all of our goals in the war,” Hajari said. “In Gaza, to dismantle Hamas and bring all the hostages home. In the north, to abolish the threat posed by Hezbollah and enable the residents of northern Israel to return to their homes safely.”

Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at Israeli military targets in northern Israel in response on Monday.

Earlier Monday, Israeli air defenses also intercepted a drone launched by a pro-Iranian militant group in Iraq.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it was targeting an Israeli base. A surge in fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border over the past week has prompted the State Department to issue a new travel warning urging American citizens to leave Lebanon on commercial flights while they still have a choice.

On Sunday, Hezbollah and Israeli forces carried out hundreds of missile strikes, while Netanyahu pledged to restore security in northern Israel “at all costs.”

The Israeli leader said his country had “dealt Hezbollah with a series of blows they never imagined” in recent days, calling it a “message.”

The multiple round-trip attacks included Hezbollah’s retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s military leader in Beirut on Friday, while the militants accused Israel of remotely detonating explosives in pagers and walkie-talkies inside Lebanon early last week, killing at least 37 people and injuring thousands.

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said the group had begun a new phase in its fight with Israel, which he called “an endless war of reckoning.”

In Washington, the Pentagon said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a call Sunday night that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself but “stressed the importance of finding a path to a diplomatic solution that allows residents on both sides of the border to return to their homes as quickly and safely as possible.”

U.S. National Security Spokesman John Kirby told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that Israel and Hezbollah must exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from escalating into an all-out war.

“We believe there is a better way … than to open a second front along the Israel-Lebanon border in addition to Israel’s nearly year-long battle with Hamas militants in Gaza.

” “No one doubts how difficult this will be,” Kirby said, but the warring parties should withdraw from the ongoing fighting so it does not become an all-out war.

As Israel’s war with Hezbollah intensifies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees pointed to ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen, noting that the region is already extremely fragile.

“The widening of the conflict could have incalculable consequences,” Filippo Grandi told VOA this week about the escalation in Lebanon.

He said the United Nations, and especially its humanitarian agencies, have had contingency plans in place for some time if the war spreads, but no one should expect humanitarians to “solve all the countless problems, countless challenges that a more serious regional war would bring.”

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the Gaza war began on October 7 last year, when the militant group began firing rockets in solidarity with the Palestinians and its Iranian-backed ally Hamas. The fighting has killed dozens in Israel and hundreds in Lebanon, and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

The Gaza war began with Hamas’ October 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. They still hold about 100 hostages, a third of whom are believed dead. More than 41,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and the Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas militants, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain, the European Union, and other countries.