Israel Launches Dozens of Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, Targeting Hezbollah

Israel’s air force carried out a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Monday morning, targeting sites linked to the Hezbollah militant group, The Associated Press reports, citing Israeli military officials and Lebanese state media.

Residents of various villages in southern Lebanon shared images on social media purportedly showing their towns under attack. The state-run National News Agency confirmed airstrikes in multiple locations.

The Israeli military’s spokesperson in Arabic said that the airstrikes were targeting Hezbollah-related assets, promising further details to be released later.

This latest wave of attacks follows a tense escalation over the weekend. On Sunday, Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets into northern Israel, some of which landed near the city of Haifa, prompting Israel to retaliate with hundreds of airstrikes.

Hezbollah’s rocket barrage came in response to an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday that killed a senior Hezbollah military commander, over a dozen other Hezbollah members, and dozens of civilians, including women and children.

The violence began last week when thousands of communication devices, primarily used by Hezbollah members, exploded across Lebanon, resulting in 39 deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries. While Lebanon blamed Israel for these attacks, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Israeli Defense Minister Vows Return of Displaced Israelis

In a statement delivered Sunday evening after visiting the Northern Command headquarters, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described the recent airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs as “significant, important, and powerful.”

Gallant stressed that Israel will take all necessary measures to ensure “the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes.” He added that the past week has been “the most difficult in the history of Hezbollah’s existence, especially over the past day.”

The escalating conflict has claimed dozens of lives in Lebanon, including a veteran Hezbollah commander. Hezbollah’s retaliatory missile attacks on Sunday forced hundreds of thousands of Israelis to seek refuge in air raid shelters.