274 dead in Lebanon as Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in fresh offensive

The announcement came shortly after Israel began what it stated was a fresh round of "extensive strikes" across Lebanon and suggested that Tel Aviv was gearing up for another round of conflict. 

In Short

• Israel warns Lebanese civilians to leave homes, weapon storage areas
• Israel's Monday strikes kill at least 274, injure over 1,000
• IDF plans to step up south Lebanon offensive, releases map

At least 274 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded, including children, women, and medics, as Israel intensified its strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday. This was the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel bombarded several areas in Lebanon as its defence force warned people to immediately leave their homes and other buildings where the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group allegedly stores weapons.

According to Lebanese officials, the country received more than 80,000 suspected Israeli calls asking people to evacuate. The head of telecoms company Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, confirmed this development to the news agency Reuters, saying such calls were "psychological warfare to cause havoc and chaos".

As the conflict is set to intensify, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that "we have complicated days ahead". He stated that he had promised to change the balance of power in the north, and that is exactly what is happening.

The latest development brings Israel's 11-month conflict with the militant group closer to all-out war after a week of escalation.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT | LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
  1. 
The Israeli military said it struck 300 targets in Lebanon on Monday in one of the most intense barrages of airstrikes in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded, making it the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October.
  2. 
The Lebanese Home Ministry ordered to open schools in Beirut, Tripoli and Eastern and Southern Lebanon as shelters amid ‘heavy displacement’ of Lebanese, the government said in a statement.
  3. 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country has “complicated days ahead”. He also called on all Israelis to “follow home front guidelines and stay united”. Netanyahu said, “We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets that are aimed at israeli cities and civilians. â€æI promised that we would change the balance of power in the north and that is exactly what we are doing”.
  4. 
The Israeli military announced on Monday that they are preparing for the next stage of its operation in Lebanon. The military chief of the general staff Herzi Halevi said, "Essentially, we are targeting the combat infrastructure that Hezbollah has been building for the past 20 years. This is very significant. We are striking targets and preparing for the next phases".
  5. 
The evacuation order represents Israel's latest effort to weaken Hezbollah, following covert operations last week that targeted and damaged parts of the militia's communication networks. Additionally, a rare strike in Beirut on Friday destroyed a building where senior Hezbollah commanders were meeting. The Israeli spokesperson stated that the attack targeted the areas related to the Hezbollah militant group.
  6. 
Amid the intensifying bombardment, families from southern Lebanon crowded the highways heading north to escape the assault. Children sat on their parents' laps, suitcases were strapped to car roofs, and dark smoke billowed in the distance, according to news agency Reuters. A seemingly endless stream of cars, vans, and pickup trucks packed with belongings and people – often spanning several generations in one vehicle – filled the roads. Some families fled in haste, taking only the bare essentials.
  7. 
The United States said that they are sending additional troops to the Middle East given escalating tensions. However, the Pentagon declined to specify the precise number or mission of the deployed forces. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region," Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said.
  8. 
Jordan has suspended flights operated by Jordanian carriers to Beirut until further notice, the country's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission said. Lufthansa Group also said they are cancelling its flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran until October 14, while flights to Beirut remain suspended until October 26.
  9. 
A security source, who spoke to Reuters, said that the Israeli strike on Monday evening on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital targeted senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki, the head of the southern front. However, Karaki's fate was unclear, as of now.
  10. 
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel on Monday of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a wider conflict. He said while Israel insists it doesn’t want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.
“They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go,” the Iranian leader said of Israel. “There is no winner in warfare. We are only fooling ourselves” if we believe that, Pezeshkian added.