Lebanon: Israeli attacks kill 100 people. That would be the deadliest day since October

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of targets in Lebanon on Monday, one of the fiercest attacks in a nearly year-long battle against the militant Hezbollah group. Military officials said they planned to expand the offensive.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 100 people were killed and over 400 injured that day, the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict began in October.

Before the escalation that began with the wave of pager explosions last Tuesday, around 600 people had been killed in Lebanon since October, most of them fighters, but also over 100 civilians.

The Israeli army announced the action on social media and published a photo allegedly showing military commander Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi authorizing further attacks from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Halevi and other Israeli politicians have announced tougher action against Hezbollah in the coming days.

The Israeli military announced an expansion of its air offensive against alleged Hezbollah weapons sites in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Military officials said on Monday they would expand their air strikes to areas in the Bekaa Valley on Lebanon's eastern border, after previously attacking more than 300 targets in southern Lebanon.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said residents of the valley must immediately vacate the areas where Hezbollah stores weapons.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had fired dozens of rockets at an Israeli military base in the Galilee and targeted the facilities of Haifa-based defense company Rafael for the second day in a row.

While Israel was carrying out the attacks, Israeli authorities reported a series of air raid sirens in northern Israel warning of rocket fire from Lebanon.

Israel had previously called on residents of southern Lebanon on Monday to leave their homes and buildings where Hezbollah allegedly stored weapons.

It was the first warning of its kind in a conflict that has escalated for nearly a year and came after a particularly fierce exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah fired around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for attacks that killed a senior commander and dozens of fighters.

There were no signs of an immediate exodus from villages in southern Lebanon, and the warning left open the possibility that some residents might be living in or near the affected buildings without knowing they were at risk.

The increasing attacks and counterattacks have raised fears of all-out war, even as Israel continues to fight Hamas in Gaza and seeks to free dozens of hostages captured in the October 7 Hamas attack. Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a militant group also backed by Iran. Israel says it is determined to restore calm on its northern border.

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

The Lebanese state news agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, for the first time since attacks began in October. No casualties were reported there. Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern regions of Baalbek and Hermel, where a shepherd was killed and two family members injured, the news agency said. In total, 30 people were injured in the attacks.

Lebanon's Health Ministry has asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley to postpone operations that could be performed later. The ministry said in a statement that the request is aimed at keeping the hospitals ready to treat people injured by “Israel's increasing 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, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations, said the strikes were aimed at limiting Hezbollah's ability to launch further attacks on Israel.

Lebanese media reported that residents had received text messages asking them to stay away from all buildings where Hezbollah stores weapons until further notice.

“If you are in a building where Hezbollah weapons are stored, leave the village until further notice,” the Arab embassy said, according to Lebanese media.

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

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

It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the Israeli orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied due to the almost daily exchanges of fire.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of turning entire communities in the south into militant bases with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure, which could prompt the Israeli military to launch a particularly heavy bombing campaign even if ground troops do not intervene.

The military said it had attacked more than 150 militant positions early Monday. Residents of several villages in southern Lebanon posted photos of airstrikes and large clouds of smoke on social media. The state news agency also reported airstrikes on various areas.

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 various parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and injuring nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel did not confirm or deny responsibility.

A day after the October 7 attack, Hezbollah began firing into Israel, saying it was an attempt to get Israeli forces to support Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily escalated over the past year.

Hundreds of people have died in the fighting in Lebanon and dozens in Israel. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have had to flee their homes. In addition, bush fires have broken out, destroying agriculture and disfiguring the landscape.

Israel has promised to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return to their homes. It prefers to do this through diplomatic means, but is also prepared to use force. Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, but that seems increasingly unlikely as the anniversary of the war approaches.

On October 7, Hamas-led militants entered southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. About 100 prisoners remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed dead, after most of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 41,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive. The ministry makes no distinction between civilians and fighters in its count. Just over half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants, but provides no evidence.

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

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