Lebanon says 100 people killed as Israel strikes 300 locations this morning alone

LAST UPDATE | 21 mins ago

ISRAELI STRIKES ON Lebanon have killed 100 people in recent hours, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, the worst death toll on a single day of any in the past year of hostilities near the border.

The Israeli military has fired on more than 300 sites in Lebanon that it claims are Hezbollah targets as the situation along the Blue Line remains fraught. 

A statement less than an hour ago from Lebanon’s ministry for health said that Israel’s attacks on “southern towns and villages” killed 50 people and wounded more than 300, “with children, women and emergency workers among the dead and wounded”. 

The toll has now been updated to say 100 people have been killed and 400 injured.

Lebanon’s health ministry has asked hospitals in the south and east of the country to call off non-essential surgeries to be ready to treat those who are wounded by the strikes.

One family affected by the strikes saw two people wounded and another, a civilian shepherd, killed, Lebanese state media reported.

Lebanon has closed schools for two days in areas that Israel has targeted in the east and south of the country, as well as in southern suburbs of the capital city Beirut that were hit on Friday.

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An Israeli military spokesperson said earlier that it is launching “extensive and precise” strikes against targets in Lebanon and that Lebanese civilians have been warned to “move away” from Hezbollah hotspots. 

Attacks exchanged by Israel and Hezbollah have intensified in recent days in the wake of the co-ordinated explosions in Lebanon that killed dozens of people and injured thousands when handheld communication devices used by Hezbollah members simultaneously detonated.

Lebanon blames Israel for the fatal explosions that occurred last Tuesday and Wednesday, which Israeli President Isaac Herzog has denied, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel had in recent days “landed a series of blows on Hezbollah that it could never have imagined”. 

For the first time, Israel has issued a warning to civilians in Lebanon – an indication of more heavy fire to come.

“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,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a media briefing today.

He said the IDF intends to engage in “extensive and precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon” and that the strikes “will go on for the near future”.

Israel says it has targeted more than 300 Hezbollah sites in strikes this morning alone, including 150 air strikes carried out between 6.30am and 7.30am local time (3.30am to 4.30am GMT).

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The Israeli air strike in a densely populated area of Beirut on Friday killed 45 people, including civilians. The head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, and a number of other Hezbollah commanders were also killed.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said yesterday that it is ready for “all military possibilities” and that threats “will not stop” them.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said that there is “great concern” about the possibility of escalation leading to an “all-out regional war”. He warned that the rise in violence between Israel and Hezbollah could undermine efforts to secure a truce deal in Gaza.

At least 41,431 people have been killed in Gaza since last October as Israel carries out its bombardment campaign.

Talks mediated by international negotiators have tried to broker a deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would include the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza but progress has been slow. 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that that he fears neither the Israeli government nor Hamas are committed to wanting a ceasefire, adding: “And that is a tragedy, because this is a war that must stop.” 

Additional reporting by AFP

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