Beirut: Israel and Hezbollah traded strikes again Tuesday, a day after a massive Israeli bombardment killed 558 people, sent thousands fleeing from southern Lebanon and put the two sides on the brink of all-out war. Lebanon Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters on Tuesday that 1,835 people were wounded during the same period and were taken to 54 hospitals around Lebanon. Abiad added that four paramedics were among those killed, and 16 paramedics and firefighters were among the wounded.
Displaced families slept in shelters hastily set up in schools in Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon. With hotels quickly booked to capacity or rooms priced beyond the means of many families, those who did not find shelter slept in their cars, in parks or along the seaside.
Well-wishers offered up empty apartments or rooms in their houses in social media posts, while volunteers set up a kitchen at an empty gas station in Beirut to cook meals for the displaced. In the eastern city of Baalbek, the state-run National News Agency reported that lines formed at bakeries and gas stations as residents rushed to stock up on essential supplies in anticipation of another round of strikes on Tuesday.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched missiles overnight at eight sites in Israel, including an explosives factory in Zichron, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the border.
The Israeli military said Tuesday morning that 55 rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, setting fires and damaging buildings. Military officials said they carried out dozens of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, including on a cell that fired rockets overnight, and that tanks and artillery struck targets near the border.
Galilee Medical Center, a northern Israel hospital, said that two patients arrived with minor head injuries from a rocket falling near their car. Several others were being treated for light wounds from running to shelters and traffic accidents when alarms sounded. The renewed exchange came after Monday's historic barrages racked up the highest death toll in any single day in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah fought a bruising monthlong war in 2006.
Israel said it targeted sites where Hezbollah had stored weapons. Data from American fire-tracking satellites analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press showed the wide range of Israeli airstrikes aimed at southern Lebanon, covering an area of over 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles).
NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System typically is used to track wildfires across rural areas of the U.S. However, it can also be used to track the flashes and burning that follow airstrikes. That’s particularly true when an airstrike ignites flammable material on the ground, such as munitions or fuel.
Data from Monday showed significant fires breaking out across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley. Several areas showed intense, multiple fires, including near the southern coastal town of Naqoura, which hosts a base for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL. Others were in mountainous rural areas or villages.
The sides appear on the verge of war again after tensions have steadily escalated over the last 11 months. Hezbollah has been firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians and its ally Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group, in Gaza. Israel has responded with increasingly heavy airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders while threatening a wider operation.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the southern part of the country on Monday after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate areas where it accuses Hezbollah of positioning rocket launchers and other weapons, in the biggest exodus since the monthlong war waged 18 years ago.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Monday's strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounded 1,645 people — a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.
Nearly a year of cross-border fire had already emptied out communities near the border, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has vowed to do whatever it takes to ensure its citizens can return to their homes in the north, while Hezbollah has said it will keep up its rocket attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, which appears increasingly remote.
The Israeli military says it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion but is prepared for one, after moving thousands of troops who had been serving in Gaza to the northern border. It says Hezbollah has launched some 9,000 rockets and drones into Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.
The military said Israeli warplanes struck 1,600 Hezbollah targets Monday, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and attack drones, including weapons concealed in private homes. Lebanese officials have said many of the victims were civilians, including more than 90 women and children killed.
Israel estimates Hezbollah has some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including guided missiles and long-range projectiles capable of striking anywhere in Israel. Monday's escalation came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters.
Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000, many of them civilians. Lebanon blamed Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny responsibility.
A timeline of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict since the 1980s:
1982 – Invasion and formation
- Israel invades Lebanon in June 1982 after attacks by Palestine Liberation Organization from southern Lebanon.
- After agreement, the PLO leaves for Tunisia but Israel’s military stays in Lebanon.
- Israel supports local proxies in Lebanon civil war, contributing to Sabra and Shatila massacre.
- Backed by Israel, right-wing militia kills thousands of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians.
- Several Lebanese groups are formed to repel the invasion.
- One is from Shia Muslim community, that is eventually named Hezbollah.
- The group quickly becomes a significant power in Lebanon.
1983 – Attacks
- Between 1982 and 1986, attacks against foreign military forces are carried out by Hezbollah.
- On Oct.23, 1983, several buildings are bombed in Beirut.
- More than 300 French and American peacekeepers are killed.
- Bombing is claimed by Islamic Jihad group, believed to be a front for Hezbollah.
1985 – Growth of Hezbollah
- Hezbollah’s fighting power grows.
- It forces Israeli army to withdraw to the Litani River in south Lebanon.
- Israel declares what it called a “security zone” along swaths of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
1992 – Politics
- Hezbollah enters parliamentary politics.
- It wins eight seats in Lebanon’s 128-seat assembly.
1993 – Seven-Day War
- In July 1993, Israel attacks Lebanon in “Operation Accountability”.
- Assault comes after Hezbollah responded to Israeli attacks on a refugee camp.
- Conflict kills 118 Lebanese civilians and wounds 500 more.
1996 – April Aggression and Qana
- On April 11, 1996, Israel launches another 17-day offensive.
- It intends to force Hezbollah beyond the Litani River.
- Israel calls it “Operation Grapes of Wrath”, referencing the 1939 novel by US author John Steinbeck.
- Significant military and civilian casualties happen on both sides.
- On April 18, Israel shells United Nations compound near Qana village in occupied southern Lebanon.
- Attack kills 106 civilians, including at least 37 children.
2006 – July War
- In 2006, Hezbollah kills three Israeli soldiers in Israeli territory.
- The militant group also captures two other soldiers.
- Hezbollah demands release of Lebanese prisoners in exchange.
- The July War breaks out, lasting 34 days.
- Around 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians are killed.
- Israel reports 158 deaths, most of them soldiers.
2009 – Updated manifesto
- In 2009, Hezbollah updates its manifesto.
- It commits to its integration into a democratic form of government.
- This is its second declaration, after 1985’s Open Letter.
- The manifesto doubles down on idea of resistance against Israel.
2023 to 2024 – Gaza
- In October 2023, Hezbollah launches rocket campaign on Israel in support of Gaza.
- Israel and Hezbollah carry out a total of 7,491 cross-border attacks between Oct. 8, 2023 and July 5, 2024.
- On July 27, 2024, 12 people mostly children and teenagers are killed at Golan soccer field in a rocket attack.
- Israel blames Hezbollah and vows harsher response.
- On 17-18 Sept. 2024, thousands of pagers explode simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria.
- Israel’s Mossad and the Israeli Defense Forces are blamed for the attack.
- 42 people are killed and thousands injured in the pager blasts.
- On Sept 20, Israel launches airstrike on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut.
- 31 people are killed including Ibrahim Aqil, a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.
- On Sept. 22, Hezbollah launches more than 100 rockets deeper into northern Israel.
- Day later, Israel launches series of strikes that kill over 500 Lebanese.
- It is the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
