Israel launches deadly strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, warns people in Beirut and elsewhere to evacuate

Missiles hit southern Lebanon, disrupting the early morning peace on Monday and reportedly killing more than 490 people as Israel said it was targeting. Hezbollah weapons hidden in residential buildings. The explosion came as Israel announced a new wave of attacks on the Iranian-backed group in Lebanon, warning people to flee any buildings or areas where the group has weapons or fighters.

The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said that these strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and injured 1,645 people, reported the Associated Press. Monday was the deadliest day in the war between Israel and Hezbollah since 2006. 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut which killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed everything in the Lebanese capital.

The Israeli military said at least 35 other rockets or drones were fired into Lebanon and northern Israel, many of which landed in open areas or were intercepted. Israeli media said at least one man was injured during the incident.

The new incident comes as Israel has warned Lebanese people – through automated calls, text messages and even reports that Lebanese radio stations are being hacked by the military – to avoid buildings used by Hezbollah.

The IDF shared images online of what it said was a second explosion following some of its strikes Monday in southern Lebanon, showing, it said, “Hezbollah weapons exploding inside houses.”

“Every house we hit contains weapons – rockets, missiles, UAVs – intended to kill Israeli citizens,” the IDF said. It said 300 separate Hezbollah targets were hit in its airstrikes on Monday morning in Lebanon.

President Joe Biden said on Monday that the US is trying to ease the situation in Lebanon.

“I have been briefed on recent developments in Israel and Lebanon. My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we are working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely,” Mr Biden said. as he had talks with the President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said on Monday that the US is sending troops to the Middle East. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would not provide details on how many additional troops or what they would be tasked with. The US currently has about 40,000 troops in the region.

New violence occurred after a on the weekend of the deadly fire between two bitter enemies in the heart of the Middle East.

Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets at one location on Saturday night, sending them deep into northern Israel and into “populated areas,” according to the Israeli military, injuring at least three people and spreading panic in the region where many towns and villages have. it’s already abandoned.

In a video posted on social media, Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Monday morning that attacks on homes and other buildings used by Hezbollah to hide and launch weapons in Lebanon “will begin soon,” warning citizens to follow the orders of the Israeli army. to get out.

“The attack will start soon. Get out of the houses where #Hezbollah has hidden weapons immediately,” Adraee said in the video, speaking in Arabic. “Hezbollah lies to you and sacrifices you.”

“We are deepening our offensive in Lebanon, actions will continue until we achieve our goal of returning the citizens of the north safely to their homes,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a video message, warning his nation of “the days ahead.” where the community will have to show calmness.”

The warning to the Israelis may have referred to the expected retaliation from Hezbollah or Some groups are called proxies of Iran in the region.

Lebanese media said people in parts of the capital Beirut and in the country’s south – both areas where Hezbollah has long enjoyed significant support – received automated phone messages warning them to evacuate. French news agency AFP said someone in the office of National Information Minister Ziad Makary received one of the calls.

The minister’s office told AFP that someone answered the phone on the office’s landline and heard a “recorded message” telling them to leave.

The warnings about what appears to be an escalation in Israel’s attack on Hezbollah came after a weekend of increased fire between the two sides on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group is a powerful political and military force.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel with rockets and drones as soon as Israel launched its own Hamas’s war in Gaza Rubbish is responding to that group’s terrorist attack on October 7. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are supported by Israel’s long-time rival Iran, and both have long been designated as terrorist groups by both the Israeli and American governments.

The IDF has intensified strikes on Hezbollah-targeted areas across Lebanon for weeks, vowing to eliminate the threat in order to return tens of thousands of residents to towns and villages along Israel’s northern border evacuated by cross-border fire.

As Israel mounts offensive operations against Hezbollah, it does so with the support of the US. I The Biden administration has expressed concern months about the tit-for-tat attacks by Israel and Hezbollah, erupting in parallel with the war in Gaza, is growing into a major conflict. The concern is based largely on the assessment that a wider conflict in the Middle East will put the US military in direct danger. Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have done it they are already targeting US forces in the region with deadly drone fire during the Gaza war.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Saturday and Sunday with Gallant amid growing tensions, and “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s right to self-defense,” according to a reading of the Pentagon’s first call, but again. “he emphasized the importance of achieving a diplomatic solution” to the crisis and his “concern for the safety and security of US citizens in the region.”

According to a readout of Sunday night’s call, Austin “made it clear that the United States stands by to protect US troops and personnel and is determined to prevent any regional actors from exploiting the situation or escalating the conflict.”

A long-feared escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah – a terrorist group that is bigger and better armed than its rival Hamas – began to snowball last week as Israel scrambled to cover itself legally. blast thousands of pagers and walkie talkies carried by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon. That attack killed about 40 people, including an unconfirmed number of Hezbollah figures and at least two children, according to Lebanese officials.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah admitted that the explosion was a “heavy blow” to the group, and accused Israel of not only breaking “all red lines” with the attack, but also “a declaration of war.”

Israel has not acknowledged the sophisticated attack using a sophisticated communications device, but CBS News has learned that US officials were tipped off by Israel about 20 minutes before the operation began, although no specific details have been shared. methods to be used.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.