Israeli army claims it struck 800 Hezbollah targets in southern, eastern Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday claimed to have struck around 800 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon's southern and eastern areas.

In a statement, the army said it struck approximately 800 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region, eastern Lebanon, in several waves of airstrikes on Monday.

The army claimed that the airstrikes were carried out on buildings used by Hezbollah to store rockets and weapons.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it struck the main warehouses at the Israeli army's Nimra base in northern Israel with dozens of rockets.

Israeli Maariv newspaper reported that there were fires and electricity outages in several Israeli settlements in the occupied Golan Heights after Hezbollah carried out rocket attacks.

In an earlier statement, Hezbollah said it fired rockets at an Israeli military-industrial complex in Haifa, marking the second attack on the northern city since the current conflict began last Oct. 8.

The group said dozens of rockets were launched at Rafael Electronics Company north of Haifa, as well as the reserve headquarters of the Northern Corps and logistics base of the Galilee Formation in the Ami'ad camp.

Lebanese health authorities said at least 274 people, including 21 children, were killed and 1,024 others injured in Israeli attacks since Monday morning, with thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes.

Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli airstrikes have destroyed "thousands of missiles and rockets aimed at Israeli cities and Israeli citizens."

Tension has mounted between Hezbollah and Israel following a deadly airstrike on Friday that killed at least 45 people, including children and women, and injured dozens in Beirut’s southern suburb.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in the Israeli strike.

The attack came two days after at least 37 people were killed and over 3,000 others injured in two waves of wireless communication device explosions across Lebanon.

While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah blame Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has not denied or confirmed its involvement.

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 on Oct. 7 last year.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara