BEIRUT – In a day of unprecedented violence since the outbreak of the exchange of fire with the Shiite group Hezbollah almost a year ago, Israel unleashed this Monday a massive bombing campaign against different parts of Lebanon that has so far left 492 dead, at least 24 of them children, some 1,600 injured and thousands of families displaced.
Fears of an open war in Lebanon have been stoked since early in the morning, when Israel began launching intense bombings against different areas of the south of the country and also the Bekaa Valley, in the east, actions that have not ceased all day in those Hezbollah fiefdoms.
As a result, at least 492 people have died and another 1,645 have been injured in these attacks, according to information from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health cited by the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel and Haaretz.
THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES DISPLACED
“As a consequence of these attacks, thousands of families were displaced from the areas targeted by the actions,” said Lebanese Minister of Public Health, Firas Abiad, in a press conference in which he did not offer specific figures on how many people or areas are affected by evacuations.
Faced with this situation, the Lebanese government has ordered the opening of schools and institutes in several areas of the country to accommodate displaced people who flee mainly to the north and west of the country, as well as to Beirut, despite the fact that the southern suburbs of the The capital of Lebanon has not been spared from an Israeli “precision” attack either.
Evacuations have also been recorded in those capital suburbs known as Dahye, a Hezbollah stronghold that three days ago was the target of another bombing that killed more than fifty people, including more than a dozen senior officials. of the allied formation of Iran.
This was the sound the beeps made before they exploded, killing more than 30 people and injuring another 3,000. To see more from Telemundo, visit
According to the National News Agency (ANN), the entrance to the southern city of Sidon, on the country’s main coastal highway, is experiencing heavy traffic jams due to the number of vehicles that are leaving the southernmost areas.
One of the schools set up as shelters for displaced people on the outskirts of the capital is completely dark on Monday night and still lacks mattresses, water or the most basic services to serve the families that are arriving to the few, according to what was possible. check EFE.
In front of a table to register new arrivals, a coordinator explains to one of the families that there is “nothing” in the shelter and asks them to get into a vehicle to take them to another reception area.
Of the more than 113,000 internally displaced people that the UN had counted so far in almost a year of violence in Lebanon, the vast majority were being welcomed by relatives or had settled in residences and rental homes.
Amid the wave of displacement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Lebanon’s citizens in a video message to stay out of “the danger zone” and evacuate the eastern and southern areas of the country that Israel is bombing. .
So far, the Israeli Army claimed to have bombed some 800 Hizbul targets in Lebanon, actions that have been accompanied by alerts to the population of the Bekaa Valley and the south to leave their homes if they were close to buildings used by Hizbul.
The two series of beeper explosions left 32 dead and 3,200 injured.
WARNINGS AGAINST ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS
The Lebanese movement responded to the Israeli campaign by launching seven rounds of “dozens” of projectiles against a series of military objectives in northern Israel.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) warned that Israel’s bombings, which have affected thousands of civilians and forced their displacement, “are not only violations of international law, but may constitute war crimes.” .
“Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have devastating and far-reaching consequences, not only for those living on both sides of the Blue Line (the divide between Lebanon and Israel), but also for the region as a whole,” warned the peace mission in a statement.
In this context, the commander of the Blue Helmets in Lebanon, Spanish General Aroldo Lzaro, was in contact with “the Lebanese and Israeli parties” to convey “the urgent need to de-escalate”, while stating that “they are making efforts to reduce tensions and stop the bombings.
Authorities in Lebanon said nine people were killed and at least 2,700, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were injured Tuesday when pagers they use to communicate exploded across the country.