The Israel Defense Forces on Monday morning said it launched “widespread” waves of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as it warned civilians to swiftly move away from homes used by the Iran-backed terror group to store weapons.
The military said it had identified Hezbollah operatives preparing to carry out rocket attacks on Israel.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 100 people were killed and more than 400 injured. The figures did not differentiate between members of the terror group and civilians.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attended an assessment on the readiness of the home front amid widening fighting, saying, “Ahead of us are days when the public will have to show composure, discipline, and full obedience” to instructions by the Home Front Command.
As of 12:30 a.m., the Israeli Air Force had struck more than 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the IDF said.
According to the military, dozens of fighter jets from all of the IAF’s squadrons participated in the strikes.
Alongside the update, the army published an image of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi approving the wave of airstrikes from the military’s underground command room at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.
NNA reported that “enemy warplanes launched… more than 80 airstrikes in half an hour,” targeting south Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh district. It also reported strikes in the Tyre area.
At the same time, the NNA reported “intense raids in the Beqaa” Valley in the east, deep inside Lebanon near the Syrian border, including in the vicinity of Baalbek and the outskirts of Hermel.
AFP correspondents in the south and east reported the sound of heavy strikes.
A Hezbollah source, requesting anonymity, said strikes in the Beqaa Valley targeted the area from east to west.
IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said earlier that strikes on houses in Lebanon in which Hezbollah was hiding weapons were “imminent.”
Lebanese civilians were warned to immediately distance themselves from sites used by the Iran-backed terror group to store weapons. The IDF said it sent text messages to residents, as well as phoning them from a Lebanese phone number.
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