On Monday, the Israeli military declared it was conducting “extensive strikes” against the militant group and urged people living in southern Lebanon to leave their houses and other structures where Hezbollah keeps weapons right now.
Following a particularly intense firefight on Sunday, it was the first warning of its type in almost a year of gradually intensifying conflict. Hezbollah retaliated after strikes that killed dozens of fighters and a top commander by firing some 150 rockets, missiles, and drones into northern Israel.
There was no indication that the villages in southern Lebanon would immediately be abandoned.
Fears of a full-scale conflict have increased in response to the increasing strikes and counterstrikes, even as Israel continues to fight Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and attempts to return scores of hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group, while Israel says it is committed to returning calm to the border.
Heavy airstrikes were reported by Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, targeting a number of areas, including those that were distant from the border.
For the first time since the exchanges started in October, the strikes, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, struck a forested area in the central province of Byblos, around 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. There were no reported injuries. According to the news agency, Israel also bombed sites in the northeastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, resulting in the death of a shepherd and the injuries of two family members. It stated that the strikes caused injuries to 17 persons in total.
According to an Israeli military official, Israel has no immediate plans for a ground invasion and is instead concentrating on aircraft operations. Speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, she said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s ability to launch more strikes into Israel.
Lebanese residents have been urged to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice, according to Lebanese media. Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said the message came in the framework of the psychological war implemented by the enemy and urged people not to give the matter more attention than it deserves. Israel has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into militant bases with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. The military said it had targeted more than 150 militant sites early Monday.
Last week, thousands of communications devices used mainly by Hezbollah members exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility. Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. 7 attack in what it said was an attempt to pin down Israeli forces to help Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily intensified over the past year.
Hezbollah has said it will keep up its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the war nears its anniversary. Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Israel’s offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count.
(AP)
