Israel has stepped up its war efforts, targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group with attacks in southern Lebanon that have left more than 550 people dead.
On Monday, Israeli attacks targeted weapons stashes that Hezbollah allegedly kept inside of residential buildings. Those buildings exploded as part of a new wave of attacks that the Israelis are carrying out against terrorist groups that have long threatened its people.
Israeli officials have warned residents of these types of apartment buildings in Lebanon that the attacks are going to continue, urging them to flee for their safety.
According to the health ministry in Lebanon, at least 558 people have been killed, with more than 1,600 people wounded. Many of those people were women and children, the ministry said.
Monday’s violence was the deadliest day between the two countries since the war in 2006.
At least 35 drones or rockets were fired from Lebanon into the northern part of Israel, the country’s military said. Many of those were either intercepted or fell into an open area, though at least one person suffered injuries as a result.
These latest direct attacks come less than a week after Israel was able to intercept Hezbollah-used pagers and walkie-talkies, causing them to explode at the same time.
During Monday’s strikes, the Israel Defense Forces said 300 Hezbollah targets were hit, all during the morning hours. As the IDF said in a statement:
“Every house that we strike contains weapons — rockets, missiles, UAVs — that are intended to kill Israeli civilians.”
After the strikes happened, President Joe Biden said the United States was still trying to calm tempers so that the situation that is quickly escalating in Lebanon could slow down.
Biden, who was meeting at the White House this week with the president of the United Arab Emirates, said:
“I’ve been briefed on the latest developments in Israel and Lebanon. My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely.”
The Pentagon also announced on Monday that it would be sending more troops to the Middle East, though the DOD wouldn’t provide additional details about how many forces they’d be sending or what they were going to be tasked with.
There are currently around 40,000 troops in the Middle East region.
Monday’s attacks come after Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Saturday night. The Israeli military said these were shot “toward civilian areas” of the country, and that three people were wounded as a result.
On Monday morning, Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the IDF, posted a video on social media warning that they would soon begin raids on buildings that Hezbollah used to hide and launch weapons from. He also warned that residents should follow all orders from Israeli military forces to evacuate.
As he said in the video, during which he spoke Arabic:
“The raids will begin soon. Evacuate the houses where “Hezbollah has hidden weapons immediately. Hezbollah is lying to you and sacrificing you.”
