Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon on Monday resulted in the deaths of 492 people, making it the deadliest day of cross-border conflict since 2006. In retaliation, Hezbollah fired nearly 200 rockets into northern Israel.
Rocket sirens activated in cities like Haifa, Afula, and Nazareth as Hezbollah launched its overnight barrage, claiming the strikes were aimed at multiple Israeli military sites and airfields.
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Israel-Hezbollah Tensions
The escalating Israel-Hezbollah tensions have raised concerns about a wider war in the region, especially following the outbreak of conflict in Gaza on October 7 last year, prompting calls for restraint from various countries.
In response to the intense Israeli military campaign, which targeted 1,600 Hezbollah sites, tens of thousands of residents fled from southern Lebanon to Beirut. According to the Lebanese health ministry, the airstrikes resulted in 492 fatalities, including many women and children, and left 1,645 others injured, marking the highest daily death toll since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990.
Hezbollah retaliated by launching approximately 200 rockets into northern Israel, though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that most were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, resulting in no casualties or damage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the military is altering the “security balance” along the northern border. IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi indicated that the military is preparing for “next phases” in Lebanon, promising further details later.
The IDF also released images of a long-range rocket mounted on a hydraulic launcher found in a Lebanese home.
“The rocket that you see below is a long-range rocket, stored on a hydraulic system directed toward Israeli civilians and ready to be launched at a moment’s notice. This is just one of the 1,300 targets including long-range cruise missiles, heavy-weight rockets and UAVs that were struck today in Lebanon and were going to be used to cause major damage in all areas of Israel,” it tweeted.
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