New Delhi: Lebanon has said that fresh Israeli strikes have killed at least 492 people and wounded 1,246 in the country.
Thirty five of those killed are children.
These figures were provided by Lebanon’s health ministry. Paramedics, women, and children are among those killed, reports quoted Lebanon authorities as having said.
The Israeli military said it has carried out strikes on “300 targets in Lebanon”, claiming that they served as “weapons depots” for Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a videotaped warning aimed at Lebanese civilians urging them to heed Israeli calls to evacuate their homes. Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming highways, including the main route to the capital Beirut, France 24 has reported.
The Guardian has quoted IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari as having said, “This is infrastructure that Hezbollah has built over many years. So far, since this morning, more than three hundred terrorist targets across Lebanon have been struck.”
The US is reported to have opposed the Israeli strikes. Iran has noted that this is an attempt by Israel to pull West Asia into a larger war.
This escalation comes after two waves of explosions triggered by Israel last week – of handheld pagers and radios – across Lebanon, leaving several dead and thousands severely injured.
The pagers and radios were both understood to be in use by Hezbollah. The group had taken to the use of older technology primarily to avert Israeli surveillance of hi-tech gadgets.
Note: This report is being updated often.
