Israel-Hezbollah War: US Dials Tel Aviv As Barrage Of Strikes Kill Over 270 In Lebanon 10 Updates

(MENAFN- Live Mint) At least 274 people were killed and more than 700 others injured on Monday as Israel struck hundreds of targets in neighbouring Lebanon. The intense barrage of airstrikes also prompted a counter-attack from Hezbollah as thousands of civilians fled the southern part of the country . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the military was changing the "security balance" along the northern border.

Israel struck more than 800 Hezbollah sites on Monday after issuing a warning for civilians to evacuate. The militant group said that it has targeted three sites in northern Israel as part of its response. An update from the health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed "182 people and wounded 727 others" with children, women and health workers among the casualties.

World powers have urged both Israel and Hezbollah to pull back from the brink of an all-out war as the clashes gained momentum in recent weeks . The UN Interim Force in Lebanon warned on Monday that further escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border risked having "devastating" regional consequences

• Thousands fled southern Lebanon on Monday with the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut. Health Minister Firass Abiad said“thousands of families from the targeted areas have been displaced”.
• More than 1,000 other people were wounded in the strikes - a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week. Officials estimate that around 5,000 people have been wounded“in less than a week” of Israeli attacks - since Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded.
• The attacks are likely to“go on for the near future” according to Israeli officials. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari urged civilians in Lebanon to“immediately move out of harm's way for their own safety” and avoid potential targets linked to Hezbollah. He indicated that the IDF would“engage in (more) extensive and precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon”.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was changing the "security balance" along the northern border. He added that Israel's policy was to preempt threats rather than "wait" for them.
  “I promised we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north – and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said during a security meeting.
• Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying“traps” to lead his country into an expanded conflict. He insisted that Tehran did not want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded.
• US President Joe Biden has said that he will discuss efforts to calm tensions in the Middle East with visiting United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on Monday.

• Meanwhile US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III also spoke with his Israeli counterpart to emphasise the need to find a diplomatic solution and ensure the safety of civilians. He voiced support for the other country's right to self-defence amid escalating Hezbollah attacks and noted that the US was ready to protect its forces and deter any attempts to widen the conflict.
• Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said the US was "sending a small number of additional US military personnel" to the region after thousands were deployed earlier alongside warships, fighter jets and air defence systems.
• The attack came mere hours after Tel Aviv urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah has stored weapons. It had warned that the military would conduct“extensive strikes” against the militant group.

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