Tens of thousands of people fled southern Lebanon on Tuesday as Israel intensified an aerial assault that inflicted the country’s deadliest day since war nearly two decades ago, while Hezbollah launched a new barrage of cross-border fire.
Nearly 500 people were killed in Lebanon on Monday, according to local health officials, marking the deadliest Israeli bombardment of the country since Israel’s 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006. By Tuesday, the death toll had risen to at least 558, including at least 50 children and 94 women, with at least 1,835 people injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israel dramatically expanded its aerial attacks after vowing to ramp up its campaign against Hezbollah following nearly a year of mounting hostilities with the Iran-backed militant and political group.
The Israeli military had issued warnings for residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate certain areas, spurring thousands of people to flee their homes.
Scenes of families fleeing southern Lebanon and of fiery explosions filling the skyline fueled global fears of an all-out regional conflict.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that the situation in Lebanon was “extremely dangerous and worrying.”
“I can say that we are almost in a full-fledged war,” he told reporters on Monday, according to Reuters. “If this is not a war situation, I don’t know what you would call it.”
Israel’s bombardment continued into Tuesday, with the Israel Defense Forces saying it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight and continued to launch attacks as part of what it dubbed “Operation Northern Arrows.”
Meanwhile, the IDF said Hezbollah continued to launch rockets into northern Israel, with the militant group vowing to continue its campaign until Israel’s offensive in Gaza ends.
Israel has vowed to continue its attacks in Lebanon, saying it is necessary to ensure the safe return of Israelis to homes in northern Israel that many have been forced to evacuate by months of deadly exchanges.
However, in a briefing Monday, an Israeli military official said a halt in fire from Hezbollah would not be enough to end Israel’s strikes on Lebanon.
They said the current campaign would only end once Israel had accomplished the goals of not only enabling the safe return of Israelis to homes in northern Israel, but also of pushing Hezbollah forces back from the border and destroying the group’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
