Relentless Attacks on South and Beqaa, Death Toll Climbs to 2,483
Israeli warplanes strike the town of al-Ansar, south of Baalbek. ©National News Agency (NNA)

Israeli air attacks continued unabated on Monday, targeting several towns in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa in east Lebanon, causing more casualties.

In the late afternoon, Israeli warplanes renewed airstrikes on Aita al-Shaab for the second time in less than two hours. A drone strike on a car near the army barracks in Tyre resulted in casualties, while other strikes hit the vicinity of Beit Mashik Farms, west of Baalbek, and the town of al-Ansar, south of Baalbek.


In Hermel district, airstrikes destroyed two homes and caused injuries, with victims transferred to al-Batoul Hospital. Arabsalim was hit by four airstrikes targeting residential areas, while in western Beqaa, a strike on Zlayya caused no casualties, but an attack on Yohmor killed two and injured one.


The National News Agency said two Syrians were killed and ten injured, some critically, in the attacks on Hermel.

Additional strikes targeted Shebaa and Kounine in South Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district. The Israeli army blew up homes and set olive groves on fire on the outskirts of the towns of Aita al-Shaab and Rmeish, according to the local Markazia news agency.  


Israeli drones hovered intensely over Beirut and the city’s southern suburb in the afternoon and Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier violently, twice over the city of Sidon and its eastern areas.  


So far, some 2,483 people have been killed and 11,628 injured in Israeli attacks, with yesterday’s toll alone reaching 19 dead and 98 injured, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Health’s Emergency Operations Center.


Hezbollah’s attacks


For its part, Hezbollah issued 24 statements of its attacks on the Israeli army since Sunday. They claimed to have targeted several gatherings, positions, and bases of the Israeli army with rocket salvos and artillery shells, and downed a Hormuz 900 drone.

Moreover, the Iran-backed party claimed to have targeted on Monday Israeli troops while they attempted to evacuate wounded and dead soldiers on the eastern outskirts of the town of Marjayoun. They also said they fired surface-to-air missiles at an Israeli warplane, forcing it to leave Lebanese airspace.


Meanwhile, the Israeli Army Radio, citing a military source, said that “the ground operation in southern Lebanon will conclude in a few weeks, allowing northern residents to return to their homes.”


The Israeli army declared that a rocket was launched towards the greater Tel Aviv area, and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Haifa port workers received messages indicating that the port's systems had been breached and would be targeted by a missile attack.

 

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