Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and Iran-backed adversaries attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, raising fears of a full-scale conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in decades.
Israel’s military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group that Lebanese authorities said killed 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women, and wounded 1,835. Tens of thousands more have fled for safety.
“In the last hour, warplanes bombed Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including missile launchers, military buildings, and buildings where weapons are stored,” Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.
Hezbollah said Israeli military targets overnight included an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, which was attacked with Fadi rockets around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT). It said it also struck the Megiddo airfield near the northern Israeli town of Afula three times.
After nearly a year of fighting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel has shifted its focus to the northern border, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
With the growing area, more than 30 international flights to and from Beirut on Tuesday were canceled, according to the Rafic Hariri International Airport website. Affected airlines include Qatar Airways, Turkish Airways and some from the United Arab Emirates.
Some Lebanese hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of wounded, a World Health Organization official in Lebanon said, and Haifa’s main hospital has moved operations to an underground facility after the Israeli city was attacked on Monday.
“We are looking at tens of thousands (of those displaced in Lebanon), but we hope that the figures will start to rise,” said the spokesman of the UN refugee agency, Matthew Saltmarsh. “The situation is very alarming.”
International concern
Calls for diplomacy are increasing as the conflict worsens, with UN human rights chief Volker Turk calling on all countries and influential actors to prevent escalation in Lebanon.
Asked about reports that Israel had warned people through phone messages before the attack, a spokesman for Turk raised concerns about the situation.
“The methods and means of war used cause serious concern about: “Have you sent a warning that you told civilians to flee, so it is not possible to attack the area, knowing that the impact on civilians will be great … “spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani to a briefing in Geneva.
Russia says an Israeli attack on Lebanon could devastate the oil-producing Middle East.
The fighting has fueled fears that the United States, Israel’s close ally, and regional power Iran, which has proxies in the Middle East – Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq – will be drawn into a wider war.
The attack has put pressure on Hezbollah, which last week suffered heavy losses when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded in the worst security breach in its history.
The operation is linked to Israel, which has a history of sophisticated attacks on foreign soil. It has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
Israel’s ingenuity and technological prowess have given it an edge in Lebanon and Gaza. They have tracked down and killed Hezbollah commanders and Hamas leaders.
Israel’s military, the most advanced and powerful in the Middle East, said about 55 projectiles had crossed into Israel in the latest attack, but the majority were intercepted.
Hezbollah said it had bombed the logistics warehouse of the 146th Division in the Naftali base with a salvo of rockets.
Fear of regional instability
Israel’s potential options could include attacking southern Lebanon and further expanding its airstrikes to attack more southern suburbs controlled by Hezbollah in Beirut or Lebanese infrastructure, including bridges and highways and Beirut’s airport that were attacked in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Hezbollah would be a more formidable opponent for Israel in a ground invasion than Hamas. Created in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to counter Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, it has extensive experience, is highly disciplined and has better weaponry than its Palestinian allies.
But Israel is facing public pressure to secure its northern border and return citizens safely – setting the stage for a long conflict in which Hezbollah has vowed to continue fighting until the nearly year-long war in Gaza ends.
The latest attack has caused panic.
Families from southern Lebanon on Monday filled cars, vans and trucks with belongings and people young and old. The highway to the north was jammed.
