Lebanon experiences deadliest day of conflict since 2006: 492 dead in attacks | News, Sports, Jobs

MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed more than 490 people on Monday, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, the deadliest attack since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate before the escalating air campaign against Hezbollah.

Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main road out of the southern port city of Sidon was clogged with cars heading toward Beirut, the largest exodus since 2006.

According to Lebanon's Health Ministry, the attacks killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and injured 1,645 – a horrifying death toll in one day for a country still reeling from the aftermath of last week's deadly attack on communications equipment.

In a recorded message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to heed Israeli calls for evacuation, saying: “Take this warning seriously.”

“Please get out of the danger zone now,” Netanyahu said. “As soon as our operation is over, you can safely return to your homes.”

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the army would do “whatever is necessary” to drive Hezbollah away from Lebanon's border with Israel.

Hagari claimed that Monday's large-scale airstrikes had inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, but declined to give a timetable for the ongoing operation and said Israel was ready to launch a ground offensive in Lebanon if necessary.

“We don't want war. We want to eliminate the threats,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes to accomplish that mission.”

Hagari said Hezbollah has fired around 9,000 rockets and drones at Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.

The military spokesman said Israeli warplanes struck 1,300 Hezbollah targets on Monday, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and combat drones. He said many were hidden in residential areas and showed photos of weapons hidden in private homes.

“Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a war zone,” he said at a press conference.

Israel estimates that Hezbollah has about 150,000 rockets and missiles, including guided missiles and long-range projectiles that can strike anywhere in Israel.

On Monday evening, the Israeli military said it had carried out a targeted attack in Beirut. Details were not given. The Lebanese state news agency reported that three rockets had hit the Beir al-Abed district in southern Beirut. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station reported that six people were injured.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said the earlier attacks had hit hospitals, medical centers and ambulances. The government ordered the closure of schools and universities in much of the country and began preparing shelters for the displaced.

Some attacks hit residential areas in the south and eastern Bekaa Valley. One hit a forest area in the farthest vicinity of Byblos, more than 130 kilometers from the border north of Beirut.

Israel announced it would expand airstrikes to areas of the valley along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria. Hezbollah has long had a presence there. The group was founded in 1982 with the help of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel was preparing the “next phase” of its operations against Hezbollah. The airstrikes were “proactive” and targeted Hezbollah's infrastructure, which it had built up over the past 20 years.

Halevi said the goal is to enable displaced Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets at Israel, including military bases, and attacked the facilities of Haifa-based defense company Rafael for the second consecutive day.

The evacuation warnings were the first of their kind in a nearly year-long, escalating conflict 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.

The increasing attacks and counterattacks have raised fears of an all-out war as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and tries to negotiate the release of dozens of hostages captured in the October 7 Hamas attack. Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks in solidarity with Hamas, a militant group also backed by Iran.

A spokeswoman for President Joe Biden said the administration was concerned about developments between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and stressed that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza was crucial to de-escalation in the region.

“It is in everyone's interest to resolve the issue quickly and diplomatically,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters accompanying Biden on her trip to New York, where he will deliver his final speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Monday's death toll far exceeded that of the devastating explosion at Beirut's port in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated, killing at least 218 people and injuring more than 6,000.

Lebanon's Health Ministry asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley to postpone non-urgent surgeries to treat people injured by “Israel's increasing aggression against Lebanon.”

On Monday, residents received text messages saying: “If you are in a building where Hezbollah weapons are stored, leave the village until further notice,” Lebanese media reported.

Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said his office in Beirut received a recorded message urging 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.”

Due to the almost daily exchanges of fire, the communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied.

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.

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 communication devices used mainly by Hezbollah members exploded in various parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and injuring nearly 3,000, including many civilians. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attack, but Israel did not confirm or deny responsibility.

A day after the October 7 attack, Hezbollah began shelling Israel, claiming it was an attempt to get Israeli forces to support Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with air strikes, and the conflict steadily escalated.

Hezbollah has said it will continue its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza, but as the anniversary of the war approaches, this seems less likely.

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. No distinction is made between civilians and fighters. Just over half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants, but has not provided any evidence.

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Lidman reported from Jerusalem and Mroue from Beirut. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in New York contributed to this report.

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