Lebanon Death Toll Surpases 500

by TMO Staff

Israel launched intense airstrikes on Hezbollah, killing hundreds in Lebanon on Monday. The attack is being called the deadliest day of Israeli attacks in Lebanon since at least 2006. More than a thousand were also injured, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

At least 492 people were killed and more than 1,600 wounded in the ongoing strikes, among them women, children and medical personnel, the Lebanon Ministry of Public Health said. Of those killed, 35 were children and 58 were women, the ministry said, ABC News reported.

According to The Times, in a statement the Israeli military said early on Tuesday (after midnight), that its Air Force had struck about 1,600 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday and was continuing to attack.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel was changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”

“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy — we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it,” Netanyahu said. “Everywhere, in every arena, at any time. We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles — and our hands are bent.”

“Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more,” he added.

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said his country was requesting an emergency Security Council meeting on the situation in Lebanon. Barrot made the request at the United Nations ahead of the General Assembly saying, “I’m thinking of the men and women in uniform in Lebanon and the French contingent there. I’m thinking of the Lebanese people as Israeli strikes have just killed hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children. These strikes conducted on both sides of the blue line, and in the region more broadly, must immediately end.”

Displaced Lebanese who fled their homes in the south arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. The country’s health ministry has been assisting those seeking safety from Israeli airstrikes, including setting up makeshift shelters in schools. Many people were arriving with just what they could load into cars or carry in backpacks and duffel bags.

There were about 250 launches from Lebanon into Israel on Monday, according to Israeli Emergency Officials.