Israel is warning residents of Lebanon that live in homes used by Hezbollah to evacuate for their own safety because they will be destroyed.
The IDF has hit more than 300 targets already today with a massive airstrike campaign and said they are about to begin hammering Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Lebanon says 182 people have been killed so far and 700 wounded.
Here’s more from ABC News:
The Israeli military expanded its Lebanon campaign with hundreds of airstrikes early on Monday, as the long-simmering border conflict with Hezbollah threatened to explode into a larger war.
Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck more than 300 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 182 people were killed and more than 700 wounded in the ongoing strikes, among them women, children and medical personnel.
The attacks coincided with a warning by from IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari of more planned Israeli strikes against Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure” in the border region and elsewhere.
Hagari said civilians in Lebanese villages used by Hezbollah for military purposes should “immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety.”
Following the intense strikes in the south of the country on Monday morning, Hagari said the IDF would soon start hitting targets in the eastern Bekaa Valley — another Hezbollah stronghold. Hagari claimed that every house by Israeli munitions contained “rockets, missiles, UAVs that are intended to kill Israeli civilians.”
Hezbollah returned fire across the border with at least 25 projectiles, the IDF said, with alarms sounding across the region. Some munitions were intercepted and some fell in open areas, the force wrote on social media.
The people of Lebanon must evacuate any home turned into a Hezbollah outpost to avoid harm,” Katz continued. “We will not stop until the threat is removed from Israel’s citizens and the residents of the north return safely to their homes.”
The IDF released a video in English when they began this campaign earlier this morning explaining why they’ve begun with this massive airstrike campaign:
🔴 IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari reveals Hezbollah plan to launch cruise missiles against Israel, warning residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate areas where the terrorist organization is operating from ahead of Israeli attacks to remove the threat pic.twitter.com/KqEpRYVjnB
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 23, 2024
They also released this video showing that Hezbollah is hiding their cruise missiles in the ready-to-fire buildings and in the homes of bystanders. And they are blowing them up:
NEW ‼️
Hezbollah Planned Cruise Missile Launch from Civilian HomeThe IDF revealed that Hezbollah planned to launch heavy cruise missiles from a civilian home. In response, the army sent rare text messages to residents of southern Lebanon and the Beqaa region, urging them to… pic.twitter.com/vYZ678d863
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 23, 2024
