More than 350 killed in massive Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon
More than 350 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured across southern and eastern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said in Beirut on Monday, as Israel launched its deadliest wave of airstrikes at the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia in decades.
As the war in Gaza approaches its first anniversary, the long-feared escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict appeared to have arrived, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 356 people dead, including 24 children, and another 1,246 wounded.
Israel said it had carried out more than 1,300 attacks on targets in Lebanon, including one in the capital Beirut, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a pre-emptive strike aimed at eliminating Hezbollah’s weaponry.
Netanyahu said that Hezbollah had concealed its rockets directed at Israeli cities in private living rooms. “To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out these weapons,” he said.
“I have a message for the people of Lebanon: Israel’s war is not with you. It’s with Hezbollah,” he added. “For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.”
In response, the Shiite group said it had launched dozens of rockets at bases in the north of Israel, targeting Israeli armaments facilities near the key port of Haifa and a military base in Galilee. There were no initial reports of injury or damage in Israel.
The Lebanese government accused Israel of “a war of annihilation” in view of the attacks. “We as a government are working to stop this new war by Israel and prevent a descent into the unknown,” said Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Israel claims thousands of rockets eliminated
The simmering dispute between Israel and Hezbollah – a firm backer of the Palestinian militant group Hamas – intensified again last week after thousands of communication devices were detonated in Lebanon, killing more than 50 people, before an Israeli strike on the Hezbollah leadership near Beirut.
The latest attacks, however, represent a significant escalation, in the most severe episode of fighting in Lebanon since the war of 2006.
Israel insists it is pursuing the goal of ensuring the evacuated residents of its northern regions can safely return to their homes.
To that end, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the country’s air force had destroyed tens of thousands of missiles threatening the lives of Israeli citizens.
“In these hours, we are destroying capabilities that Hezbollah has built up over 20 years,” he stated.
The military was also continuing to target senior Hezbollah commanders, days after the strike in a Beirut suburb that killed the high-ranking Ibrahim Aqil and 15 others.
Israeli media reported that the latest attack in Beirut was aimed at senior Hezbollah commander Ali Karaki. But Hezbollah said in a statement late Monday that Karaki was in “full health” and had been taken to a “safe place.”
UN mission in Lebanon expresses concern
As the death toll from the Israeli strikes continued to rise on Monday, the United Nations mission in Lebanon called for de-escalation and for civilian lives to be protected.
In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed “grave concern for the safety of civilians in southern Lebanon amidst the most intense Israeli bombing campaign since last October.”
“Attacks on civilians are not only violations of international law but may amount to war crimes,” it added.
The statement said Aroldo Lázaro, the UNIFIL head of mission, was in contact with both Israeli and Lebanese authorities in an effort to halt the shelling.
“Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have far-reaching and devastating consequences,” UNIFIL warned.
A spokesman for UN Secretary General António Guterres, meanwhile, said he was “gravely alarmed” by the “large number of civilian casualties, including children and women.”
The dramatic escalation in the Middle East is likely to overshadow the largest diplomatic meeting in the world – the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in New York, which begins on Tuesday.
Path forward unclear
So far, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have avoided answering the question of whether Monday’s airstrikes could be followed by a ground offensive in Lebanon – a move that could draw in Hezbollah’s allies in the region, or even Iran itself.
Amid the rising tensions, the United States said it was sending “a small number of additional US military personnel” to reinforce its bases in the region.
There about 40,000 US military personnel already stationed in the Middle East, with Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder saying the move was “out of an abundance of caution.”
Also on Monday, the Israeli government declared a state of emergency throughout the country.
Israeli media said the declaration will last until September 30 and means, among other things, that the size of gatherings can be restricted. So far, however, the army has not yet released any new instructions.
Smoke from heavy Israeli air raids billows from the southern Lebanese village of Taibeh. The death toll has risen to 182 people with 727 others injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said on Monday. Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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