Israel launches new wave of airstrikes in Lebanon

By Abdelrauf Arnaut

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army said Tuesday it launched a new wave of airstrikes against what it called Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

A military statement said warplanes hit sites associated with Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley and other areas of southern Lebanon, including buildings Israel said used for storing weapons, command centers, and other military infrastructure.

"We continue our efforts to weaken and dismantle the military capabilities and infrastructure of Hezbollah,” the army said.

The new wave of strikes came one day after the army said that it had hit over 1,100 Hezbollah targets in the last 24 hours in southern and eastern Lebanon, using more than 1,400 different munitions in some 650 sorties of its fighter jets.

At least 558 people have been killed, including 50 children and 95 women, and 1,835 others injured in the Israeli attacks in Lebanon since Monday morning, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad.

"The majority of the victims in the Israeli attacks since Monday morning are defenseless civilians in their homes. This refutes the enemy's allegations of targeting fighters," the minister stressed.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Rania Abu Shamala