Lebanon suffers deadliest day since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill more than 270

By BASSAM HATOUM, MELANIE LIDMAN and BASSEM MROUE

MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli strikes Monday killed more than 270 Lebanese in the deadliest barrage since Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah, as the Israeli military warned residents of southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of a broader air campaign against Hezbollah.

Thousands of Lebanese have fled the south of the country, and the main highway leading to the port city of Sidon has been clogged with cars heading toward Beirut, the largest exodus since fighting in 2006. More than 1,000 people have been injured in the strikes, a staggering toll for a country still recovering from a deadly attack on communications equipment last week.

The death toll surpassed that of the devastating Beirut port explosion in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse exploded, killing at least 218 people and injuring more than 6,000.

In a recorded message to Lebanese civilians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to heed Israeli calls to evacuate, saying to “take this warning seriously.”

“Please get out of harm’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is over, you will be able to return home safely.”

The Israeli army announced on Monday evening that it had carried out a targeted strike in Beirut. It did not give details.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the Beir al-Abed neighborhood in southern Beirut was hit by three missiles. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV channel reported six injuries. The area was sealed off and journalists were not allowed to enter.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told a news conference in Beirut that previous strikes had hit hospitals, medical centers and ambulances. The government ordered schools and universities to close in most of the country and began preparing shelters for displaced people in the south.

The Israeli military said it struck some 800 targets, specifying that it was targeting Hezbollah weapons sites. Some of the strikes hit residential areas in cities in the southern and eastern Bekaa Valley. One hit a wooded area as far away as Byblos in central Lebanon, more than 130 kilometers from the border north of Beirut.

The military announced it was expanding its airstrikes to areas of the valley, along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Hezbollah has long had a presence in the valley, where the group was founded in 1982 with the help of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari reiterated warnings urging residents to immediately evacuate areas where Hezbollah is storing weapons, including in the valley. The warnings raise the possibility that some residents are living in or near the targeted structures without knowing they are in danger.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it had fired dozens of rockets at Israel, including at military bases. It also targeted the facilities of the Haifa-based defense company Rafael for the second day in a row.

As Israel carried out its attacks, Israeli authorities reported a series of air raid sirens in northern Israel, warning of rocket fire from Lebanon.

The evacuation warnings are the first of their kind in nearly a year of escalating conflict and come after a particularly intense exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched about 150 rockets, missiles and drones toward northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a senior commander and dozens of fighters.

The increase in strikes and counterattacks has raised fears of all-out war, even as Israel continues to battle Hamas in Gaza and tries to return scores of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, another Iranian-backed militant group. Israel says it is determined to restore calm to its northern border.

Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting numerous areas Monday morning, including some far from the border.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency said the strikes hit a wooded area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, for the first time since the exchanges began in October.

Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern regions of Baalbek and Hermel, where a shepherd was killed and two of his relatives were wounded, according to the Israeli news agency. A total of 30 people were injured.

The Lebanese Health Ministry put the death toll at 274. It asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley to postpone surgeries that could be performed later. The ministry said its request was aimed at keeping hospitals ready to treat those injured by “Israel’s growing aggression against Lebanon.”

An Israeli military official said Israel was focusing on air operations and had no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the strikes were aimed at limiting Hezbollah’s ability to launch further strikes against Israel.

Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages saying: “If you find yourself in a building housing Hezbollah weapons, stay away from the village until further notice.”

Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message asking people to leave the building.

“This is part of the psychological warfare waged by the enemy,” Makary said, urging people “not to give this issue more attention than it deserves.”

Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied due to the near-daily exchanges of gunfire.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of turning entire southern towns into militant bases, hiding rocket launchers and other infrastructure. This could lead the Israeli military to conduct a particularly intense bombing campaign, even if no ground forces intervene.

An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a senior Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.

Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000, including many civilians. Lebanon has accused Israel of being responsible for the attacks, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Hezbollah began firing on Israel a day after the October 7 attack, in what it said was an attempt to force Israeli forces to help Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes, and the conflict has intensified over the past year.

Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah away from the border so its citizens can return home, saying it prefers to do so through diplomacy but is prepared to use force. Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks until a ceasefire is established in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the war approaches its anniversary.

Hamas militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. About 100 captives remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to have died, with most of the rest freed during a week-long ceasefire in November.

The Israeli offensive has left more than 41,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. It says women and children account for just over half of the casualties. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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Lidman reported from Jerusalem and Mroue from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Originally published: September 23, 2024 at 12:18 a.m.