Over 280 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Lebanon
NEW DELHI, Sept 23: The Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon on Monday killed at least 282 people in one of the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war as the Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes ahead of a widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
The airstrikes hit wide areas in southern and north-eastern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it struck 800 targets in Lebanon as it steps up pressure against the Hezbollah militant group. The Army announced the strikes on the social media platform X, posting a photo of what is said was the military chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, approving additional attacks from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Before the escalation of the attacks began with the wave of pager explosions last Tuesday, around 600 people had been killed in Lebanon since October, mostly fighters, but also more than 100 civilians. As Israel was carrying out the attacks, Israeli authorities reported a series of air-raid sirens in northern Israel warning of incoming rocket fire from Lebanon.
Warning sirens sounded in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Monday as Hezbollah rocket fire extended further south from the border areas in northern Israel, which have been most heavily targeted in the latest exchange of fire. “Alarms were also sounded in areas across northern Israel,” the Military said.
“At least 282 people, including 21 children and 31 women, were killed and 1,024 wounded in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Monday,” the country’s Health Minister said during a press conference.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon warned Monday that further escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border risked having “devastating” regional consequences, as Israel said it hit Hezbollah targets and the group struck back. “Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have far-reaching and devastating consequences, not only for those living on both sides of the Blue Line but also for the broader region,” the UNIFIL peacekeeping force said in a statement, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.
(Manas Dasgupta)
