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Atleast 31 people were killed and 149 others injured in overnight strikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) across southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern Dahiyeh district, the Times of Israel reported on Monday, citing Lebanon's Health Ministry.
According to the Times of Israel, the areas are known for being Hezbollah strongholds; however, the ministry's figures do not distinguish between civilians and members of Hezbollah among the casualties. The IDF confirmed the attacks, stating that the strikes targeted Hezbollah positions in retaliation for a rocket barrage fired by the Iranian-backed group toward northern Israel. The escalating conflict in West Asia widened today following Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, following projectile fire from Lebanese territory into northern Israel. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a series of posts on X that it carried out targeted strikes against senior members of Hezbollah in the Beirut area in response to the projectile fire launched toward Israel, particularly towards the north of the country. "The Air Force struck a short time ago in a targeted manner, senior terrorists from the Hezbollah terror organization in the Beirut area. In parallel, the IDF struck a central terrorist from the Hezbollah terror organization in southern Lebanon. Further details to follow," the Israeli Air Force said. According to the military, several projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some falling in open areas. In certain cases, no alerts were activated in accordance with policy. The IAF said it was striking Hezbollah targets "with force" across Lebanon, accusing the group of operating under the backing of the Iranian regime and of opening fire on Israeli civilians. "The terrorist organization Hezbollah, operating under the auspices of the Iranian terrorist regime, opened fire against the State of Israel and its citizens. The IDF will act against the terrorist organization Hezbollah's decision to join the campaign and will not allow the organization to pose a threat to the State of Israel or harm residents of the north," the military said in another post. The latest exchange of fire marks a significant widening of hostilities in the region, which has witnessed an unprecedented amount of projectile firing across several regional countries. According to the Times of Israel, this marks the first such confrontation since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024. This came following US-Israel joint military strikes on Iran that led to the death of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his family on Sunday. Following the strikes, Iran launched a wave of strikes, using drones and missiles targeting multiple arab countries in the region, as a retaliatory action by the Islamic Republic. (ANI)
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