ADDS MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, EDITS THROUGH
By Wassim Seifeddine
BIERUT (AA) – At least one person was killed and 17 other were injured in intensive Israeli airstrikes targeting several areas in Lebanon early Monday, according to Lebanese media.
Israeli fighter jets launched over 80 airstrikes within a 30-minute period early morning, striking regions and valleys between the towns of Ansar and Zrariyeh in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Attacks targeted several other areas, including Wa'ba, Jibchit, Sharqia, Al-Namiriyeh, the edges of Kfar Tebnit, Nabatiyeh El Faouqa and Deir El Zahrani.
Additionally, areas surrounding the Kfar Roummane-Midneh highway, the outskirts of Yohmor Al-Shaqif, Arnoun, Jabal Al-Tuffah, Jabal Al-Rihan, the outskirts of Sejoud, and the former Kfar Tebnit crossing point were also hit.
A Lebanese shepherd was killed and six people were injured, including two family members, in an Israeli strike in Bodai in eastern Lebanon, state media reported.
The Health Ministry said 11 more people were injured in another strike in Aitaroun in southern Lebanon on Monday.
Several airstrikes also targeted the outskirts of Zboud in northern Beqaa, the mountainous regions of Hermel, and Jabal Safi in western Beqaa.
Heavy airstrikes were also reported in areas east of Tyre and the Litani River at the southern edge of Dlafy in southern Lebanon.
According to Israel’s Army Radio, warplanes hit more than 150 targets in Lebanon using dozens of fighter jets on Monday.
“The planned strikes are expected to be more significant than Sunday's and will continue for an extended period,” the Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a military statement.
Separately, the Israeli army warned civilians in villages in southern Lebanon to leave buildings where Hezbollah weapons are stored.
“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm's way for their own safety,” the army said in a statement.
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 Mohammad Sio