UPDATES DEATH TOLL, REVISES HEADLINE
By Wassim Seifeddine
BEIRUT (AA) - At least 182 people were killed and 727 others injured in intensive Israeli airstrikes targeting several areas in Lebanon since Monday morning, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
Children, women and medics were among the victims, the ministry added in a statement, without giving an exact figure.
The Israeli army said that it launched more than 300 airstrikes in Lebanon since early morning, marking the heaviest bombardment since the onset of hostilities last Oct. 8.
Fighter jets struck regions and valleys between the towns of Ansar and Zrariyeh in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) 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.
Heavy airstrikes were also reported in areas east of Tyre and the Litani River at the southern edge of Dlafy in southern Lebanon.
The Israel attacks have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes in Tyre and other areas in southern Lebanon towards the city of Sidon, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
“The Israeli aggression is a scheme aimed at destroying Lebanese villages, towns and eradicating all green spaces,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army may target numerous Lebanese villages located up to 80 kilometers from the border.
“In recent hours, we have identified Hezbollah's plans to attack Israeli citizens. In the near future, we will strike hostile targets in Lebanon to eliminate this threat,” he added at a press conference.
The 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 in Istanbul