MARJAYON, Lebanon (AP) — More than 350 Lebanese, including more than 60 women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes, Lebanese officials said, as the Israeli military warned residents in the south and east after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Lebanon will withdraw early to expand air campaign against Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway in the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading for Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 356 people, including 24 children and 42 women, had been killed and 1,246 injured in the strikes — a dramatic one-day toll. A country still reeling from Deadly attack on communication devices Last week.
The death toll is higher than in Beirut A catastrophic port explosion in 2020Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse exploded, killing at least 218 people and injuring more than 6,000.
In a recorded message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese citizens to heed Israeli calls to evacuate, saying “take this warning seriously.”
“Please get out of harm’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is over, you can safely return to your homes.”
The Israeli military said it carried out a targeted attack in Beirut on Monday evening. It did not provide details.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the village of Kafar Rouman, as seen from the town of Marjayon in southern Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Malla)
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported three missiles struck the Beir al-Abad neighborhood in southern Beirut. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that six people were wounded. The area was cordoned off and journalists were not allowed.
Lebanese Health Minister Fraz Abiad told a news conference in Beirut that earlier strikes had affected hospitals, medical centers and ambulances. The government ordered the closure of schools and universities in most parts of the country and began preparing shelters for people displaced from the south.
The Israeli military announced it had struck 800 targets, which it said were targeting Hezbollah weapons sites. Some of the strikes hit residential areas in the southern and eastern Bekaa Valley. One hit a forested area north of Beirut from the border to Byblos in central Lebanon, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) away.
The military said it was expanding airstrikes to include parts of the valley along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Hezbollah has long had an established presence in the Valley, where the group was founded in 1982 with the help of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari urged residents to immediately evacuate areas including the valley where Hezbollah has stockpiled weapons. The warnings left open the possibility that some residents lived in or near the targeted structures without realizing they were at risk.
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said Israel was preparing for its “next phase of operations” against Hezbollah and that its airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure built over the past 20 years were “effective.”
More details will be released soon, Halevi said, adding that the goal is to allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired dozens of rockets at Israel, including military bases. It also targeted the facilities of the Haifa-headquartered Rafale Defense Company for a second day.
When Israel launched the attacks, Israeli officials announced a series of air raid sirens in northern Israel warning of an impending rocket attack from Lebanon.
The first such evacuation warnings in nearly a year Escalating conflict And Sunday came after a fierce firefight. In response to the deadly attack, Hezbollah launched about 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel. A high commander And dozens of fighters.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the village of Kiyam, as seen from the town of Marjayon in southern Lebanon, Monday, September 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Malla)
Increasing strikes and counter-attacks have raised fears of all-out war, even as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and tries to negotiate the release of several hostages. In the October 7 attack by Hamas. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas.
Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting several areas on Monday morning.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos for the first time since the exchanges began.
Israel bombed targets in the northeastern areas of Baalbek and Hermel, where a shepherd was killed and two relatives were wounded, the news agency said, injuring a total of 30 people.
Lebanon’s health ministry put the death toll at 274. Hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley asked for the postponement of emergency surgeries to keep hospitals ready to treat those injured by “Israel’s expanding occupation of Lebanon.”
An Israeli military official said Israel was focusing on air operations and had no immediate plans for ground operations. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comply with regulations, said the strikes were aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s ability to carry out more attacks in Israel.
Residents received text messages that read: “If you are in a building that holds weapons for Hezbollah, leave the village until further notice,” Lebanese media reported.
Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makari said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message asking people to leave the building.
“It comes in the form of psychological warfare implemented by the enemy,” Macari said, and urged people not to “give more attention to this matter than it deserves.”
Communities on both sides of the border have been largely emptied due to almost daily gunfire.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of turning entire communities in the south into terrorist bases, with rocket launchers and other infrastructure. This would lead the Israeli military to mount an especially heavy bombing campaign, even if any ground forces were to enter.
An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.
Last week, thousands of communication devices, mainly used by Hezbollah members, erupted in various parts of Lebanon39 people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured, many of them civilians. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the October 7 attack in what it said was an attempt to target Israeli forces to aid Palestinian militants in Gaza. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has gradually escalated.
Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return home. Hezbollah has said it will carry out attacks in Gaza until a ceasefire is reached. It seems increasingly elusive As the war approaches its anniversary.
Hamas-led militants entered southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. About 100 prisoners are still being held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. They were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Gaza’s health ministry says 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks. It says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants.
___
Litman reported from Jerusalem and Mrou from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
“Friend of animals everywhere. Devoted analyst. Total alcohol scholar. Infuriatingly humble food trailblazer.”