Lebanon in chaos as Israel continues strikes targeting Hezbollah
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The news: Lebanon has descended into chaos as Israel continued deadly airstrikes targeting what it says are Hezbollah targets, killing at least 558 people on Monday in the deadliest attack since 2006.
Among those dead from an airstrike in Beirut on Tuesday was Hezbollah missile commander Ibrahim Qubaisi, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The numbers: Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 558 people were killed by the Israeli strikes on Monday, including 50 children and 94 women. 1,835 people were wounded, it said.
Israeli media said the military had struck 1,600 targets in Lebanon related to the Lebanese militant group since Monday.
The context: The strikes have compelled thousands of civilians to abandon their homes, particularly in southern Lebanon.
Footage on social media showed long lines of traffic as thousands of people tried to flee southern Lebanon,
Desperate scenes were also seen at border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, with hundreds of vehicles clogging up the roads on the Lebanese side.
Those displaced across the country in the past 24 hours have risen to 16,500, Nasser Yassine, Lebanon’s emergency preparedness coordinator, told CNN, while the UN refugee agency predicted Lebanon’s displaced population would continue rising.
Hezbollah retaliated, firing 50 rockets into Israeli military bases on Tuesday, Reuters reported citing the Iran-backed militia. An Israeli military spokesperson cited by CNN said the projectiles had been double that number, and most of those had been intercepted.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed continued strikes against Hezbollah, urging Lebanese civilians to evacuate.
The conflict has taken centre stage at the UN General Assembly in New York, where Joe Biden addressed the fighting in his last UN speech as president, as fears of a wider conflict involving regional powers, including Iran, continued to grow.
What they said: “A full-scale war is not in anyone’s interests,” Biden said in his speech. “Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible- in fact it remains the only path for lasting security.”
The sources: Reuters , CNN , The New York Times
