At least 274 individuals lost their lives in Lebanon on Monday, among them 21 children, marking the highest daily death toll in nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel claimed its air raids on southern and eastern Lebanon were aimed at hundreds of Hezbollah locations, with warnings of further attacks. After enduring almost a year of bombardment in Gaza, Israel has now turned its attention to its northern border, where Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel.
Israel's military conducted widespread strikes on Monday, targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the northern region near Syria. Approximately 5,000 people have been injured in less than a week of Israeli attacks, following the explosion of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies, and an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.
In southern Lebanon, health workers were overwhelmed with treating hundreds of wounded individuals as families frantically sought to escape the deadliest Israeli strikes in nearly a year. An employee at Tebnin hospital, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, described the chaotic scene: 'Wounded people are pouring in non-stop... I don't know how many have been wounded because the injured are lining the street outside the hospital.'
The United States is deploying a 'small number' of additional troops to the Middle East in response to escalating tensions, according to the Pentagon. This move comes amid growing fears of a broader regional conflict, with Israel hitting hundreds of targets in Lebanon in the most severe cross-border escalation in nearly a year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese citizens to evacuate areas of danger as the Israeli military intensified its attacks on Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon. 'Please, get out of harm's way now. Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes,' Netanyahu said in a video statement.
Jordan has temporarily halted flights operated by Jordanian carriers to Beirut. A source close to Hezbollah revealed that an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs targeted the group's commander for southern Lebanon, Ali Karake, although it remains unclear whether he was killed.
An Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday evening, according to a security source. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed the death toll from Israeli strikes had risen to 274, including 21 children and 39 women, making it the bloodiest daily toll in nearly a year of cross-border clashes.
