On Tuesday, Israel declared numerous further airstrikes on what it claimed to be Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. The previous day, 558 individuals—among them 50 children—had perished in the most deadly bombardment since a catastrophic war in 2006.
Israel said it had killed a “large number” of combatants when it struck over 1,600 suspected Hezbollah locations across the nation, prompting its midnight attacks on southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah claimed to have fired missiles at Israeli military installations, just hours after 180 of its missiles and an unmanned aerial vehicle violated Israeli airspace, forcing residents of Haifa to seek cover.
In less than ten minutes on Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said that over fifty missiles were fired into northern Israel, the most of which were intercepted.
58 women and 35 children were among the 492 people who died in Monday’s raids in Lebanon, while 1,645 others were injured, according to the health ministry, which also stated that “thousands of families” had fled their homes.
When air raid sirens went out on Monday, residents of the coastal city of Haifa, Israel, were spotted fleeing for their lives.
Lebanese journalist Nazir Reda, who was traveling to his hometown close to the Israeli border to rescue his family from the violence, stated, “Everyone is heading (to the Lebanese capital Beirut) with their children and their belongings — it’s the first time we see such panic since 2006.”
Israel and Hezbollah, longtime enemies, have been engaged in almost daily cross-border gunfights since October 7 of last year.
The conflict has involved Hezbollah, which has been at war with Israel for many years, as well as other combatants in the area supported by Iran.
Not only was Monday’s shelling of Lebanon the biggest in the last year, but it was also the largest since the summer 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
That conflict destroyed major parts of Hezbollah’s strongholds and claimed 1,200 lives in Lebanon, largely civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly troops.
Pakistan denounced the Israeli assault “with the utmost venom.”
According to a statement from the Foreign Office (FO), the aggression constituted a “serious breach” of both international law and the UN Charter. The FO continued, “It is a risky escalation that has further endangered peace and security in an already volatile region.”
It declared that Pakistan stands in sympathy with the people of Lebanon and for their right to live in peace and security, reiterating its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“We demand that the international community move quickly to hold Israel accountable for its dangerous expansion into the region, as well as for its acts of aggression and genocide.”
Arab nations vehemently denounced Israel for the increasing hostilities that had reached unprecedented heights in almost a year with Hezbollah.
Smoke billowed into the sky from explosions close to the historic city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.
“Our life has become a constant state of bombardment, even when we sleep,” expressed 60-year-old Wafaa Ismail, a homemaker from the southern village of Zawtar.
“The Northern Arrows Operation”
Israel announced earlier this month that it was refocusing its firepower from Gaza to Lebanon, hence the moniker “Operation Northern Arrows” for its massive assaults against Hezbollah.
Global leaders have voiced concern over the quickening pace of the conflict in Lebanon, with the top diplomat for the EU, Josep Borrell, warning that “we are almost in a full-fledged war” and the spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres expressing his “grave alarmedy.”
Iraq demanded an urgent conference of Arab governments outside the UN General Assembly in New York, while France and Egypt urged the UN Security Council to step in.
Following the earlier deployment of thousands of US military personnel along with warships, fighter planes, and air defense systems, the Pentagon said that it was sending a modest number of extra personnel to the Middle East.
Speaking during the assembly under condition of anonymity, a US official stated that Washington had “concrete ideas” on how to defuse the situation and was against an Israeli ground invasion aimed at Hezbollah.
In a united declaration, the foreign ministers of the G7 warned of “unimaginable consequences” should a regional conflict break out and stated that “no country stands to gain” from growing conflict.
“The hardest week ever for Hezbollah”
Hezbollah had been constructing battle infrastructure for two decades, according to Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant referred to Monday as “a significant peak” in the effort.
“The outcomes speak for themselves—this is Hezbollah’s most challenging week since its founding,” he declared.
He went on, “Due to the operations at the start of the week, which resulted in multiple terrorist injuries, entire units were removed from combat.”
Hezbollah declared that it was in a “new phase” of conflict with Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel was taking action to alter the “security balance” in the north.
According to an AFP count based on Israeli government data that includes hostages slain in captivity, 1,205 persons, largely civilians, died as a result of Hamas’s onslaught on Israel on October 7. This marked the beginning of the current battle in Gaza.
Out of the 251 prisoners that Hamas took over, 97 are being held captive in Gaza, 33 of whom the Israeli military claims to be dead.
The health ministry of the territory has published numbers indicating that at least 41,455 individuals have died in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory military attack, the majority of them were civilians. According to the UN’s rights experts, Israeli forces “may have systematically violated the principles of distinction and proportionality,” and the data have been deemed reliable.
Researchers believe that the death toll is even higher because thousands of people are still missing beneath the debris.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to escape their homes on both sides of the Gaza crisis due to confrontations along the border between Lebanon and Israel.
The gunfire moved from Israel’s southern border with Gaza to its northern border with Lebanon, prompting international powers to call on Israel and Hezbollah to retreat from the verge of full-scale conflict.
Gadget Explosions
Last week, there was a sharp increase in the level of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after coordinated explosions of communications devices, which the militants accused Israel of causing, left 39 dead and almost 3,000 injured.
Then, on Friday, Ibrahim Aqil, the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, was killed by an Israeli strike on southern Beirut, a stronghold of the group.
Unnamed Israeli military officials stated that the IDF’s goals are to “degrade threats” posed by Hezbollah, drive them back across the border, and demolish infrastructure.
Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, pleaded with the UN and other international organizations to thwart Israel’s “plan that aims to destroy Lebanese villages and towns.”
He announced that he was going to New York to “make further contacts” with world leaders in an attempt to put an end to the bloodshed, thus he was canceling a planned cabinet meeting.
