Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill over 120

Israeli air strikes across Lebanon have killed at least 123 people and wounded hundreds this week, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, as fighting intensifies along Israel’s northern front with Hezbollah.

The ministry said the death toll from Israeli attacks since Monday has risen to 123, with at least 683 others injured.

Lebanese state media reported that Israeli warplanes launched fresh strikes early Friday on several towns in southern Lebanon, including Srifa, Aita al-Shaab, Touline, as-Sawana and Majdal Selem.

Another air strike hit the eastern town of Douris at dawn, while Israel also targeted Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Israeli forces also carried out raids around Sidon, the largest city in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least five people were killed and seven injured in the attack.

As the violence escalated, Hezbollah warned Israeli residents living within 5 kilometres of the border with Lebanon to leave the area.

The warning came shortly after Israel urged residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate, triggering a mass exodus from the densely populated Dahiyeh district where about half a million people live.

The Israeli military said it has carried out at least 26 rounds of strikes in the area, claiming the attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, including an executive headquarters and a drone storage facility.

Hezbollah said Israel’s attacks on Lebanese territory and civilians would not go unanswered. The group said its fighters launched several attacks early Friday on Israeli ground forces that had entered Lebanese territory.

According to Hezbollah, its fighters targeted Israeli troops near Maroun al-Ras and Kfar Kila inside Lebanon. It also claimed attacks on Israel’s Yoav military camp in the occupied Golan Heights and a naval base in Haifa.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from those attacks.

The Israeli army said it would not evacuate its border towns and has sent more troops into Lebanon, describing the move as necessary to protect nearby Israeli communities.

Meanwhile, thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled their homes after Israeli evacuation warnings. Many displaced families have taken shelter on beaches and in temporary locations across Beirut.

Aid groups warned that the humanitarian situation is rapidly worsening as shelters struggle to accommodate the large number of displaced people.

The United Nations human rights chief expressed concern over Israel’s large-scale evacuation orders in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying the mass displacement raises serious questions under international humanitarian law.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the evacuation orders have affected vulnerable groups including the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities. The Lebanese Red Cross has been helping evacuate patients from hospitals in affected areas.

The latest escalation comes as fighting between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah has intensified amid the wider regional conflict involving Iran.

Source: Al Jazeera