Lebanon says 100 people killed as Israel launches barrage of airstrikes – National

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Lebanon says 100 people ******* as ******* launches barrage of airstrikes – National

The ******** military said it struck 300 targets Monday in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages of airstrikes in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said 100 people were ******* and more than 400 wounded in what would be the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October.

Before the escalation beginning with the wave of pager explosions last Tuesday, around 600 people had been ******* in Lebanon since October, mostly fighters, but also more than 100 civilians.

The ******** army announced the action on social media, posting a photo of what is said was the military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, approving additional attacks from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Halevi and other ******** leaders have promised tougher action against Hezbollah in the coming days.

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Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired dozens of rockets at an ******** military post in Galilee. It also targeted for a second day the facilities of the Rafael defense firm, headquartered in Haifa.

As ******* carried out the attacks, ******** authorities reported a series of air-raid sirens in northern ******* warning of incoming rocket ***** from Lebanon.

Earlier Monday, ******* urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah has stored weapons, saying the military would conduct “extensive strikes” against the militant group.

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2:03
******* has hit Hezbollah in ways it never imagined, Netanyahu says

It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of ***** on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern ******* in retaliation for strikes that ******* a top commander and dozens of fighters.

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There was no sign of an immediate exodus from the villages of southern Lebanon, and the warning left open the possibility that some residents could live in or near targeted structures without knowing that they are risk.

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The increasing strikes and counterstrikes have raised fears of an all-out war, even as ******* is still battling ****** in Gaza and trying to return scores of hostages taken in ******’ Oct. 7 *******. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and ******, a fellow Iran-backed militant group. ******* says it is committed to returning calm to its northern border.

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Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting many areas Monday morning, including some far from the border.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the ********-Lebanese border, for the first time since the exchanges began in October. No injuries were reported there. ******* also bombed targets in the northeastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, where a shepherd was ******* and two family members were wounded, according to the news agency. It said a total of 30 people were wounded in strikes.

The Lebanese Health Ministry asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley to postpone surgeries that could be done later. The ministry said in a statement that its request aimed to keep hospitals ready to deal with people wounded by “*******’s expanding aggression on Lebanon.”

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An ******** military official said ******* is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s ability to launch more strikes into *******.

Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages urging them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice.

“If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice,” the Arabic message reads, according to Lebanese media.

Lebanon’s information minister, Ziad Makary, said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message telling people to leave the building.

“This comes in the framework of the psychological war implemented by the ******,” Makary said, and urged people “not to give the matter more attention than it deserves.”

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2:18
******* limits gatherings over fears of a Hezbollah retaliation

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It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the ******** orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied out because of the near-daily exchanges of *****.

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******* has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into militant bases, with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. That could lead the ******** military to wage an especially heavy ******** campaign, even if no ground forces move in.

The military said it had targeted more than 150 militant sites early Monday. Residents of different villages in southern Lebanon posted photos on social media of airstrikes and large plumes of smoke. The state-run National News Agency also reported airstrikes on different areas.

An ******** airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday ******* a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.

Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, ******** 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed ******* for the attacks, but ******* did not confirm or deny any responsibility.

Hezbollah began ******* into ******* a day after the Oct. 7 ******* in what it said was an attempt to pin down ******** forces to help ************ fighters in Gaza. ******* has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily intensified over the past year.

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7:05
‘Hard to be optimistic’ as *******-Hezbollah conflict escalates: Aurel Braun

The fighting has ******* hundreds of people in Lebanon, dozens in ******* and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. It has also sparked brush fires that have destroyed agriculture and scarred the landscape.

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******* has vowed to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return to their homes, saying it prefers to do so diplomatically but is willing to use force. Hezbollah has said it will keep up its attacks until there is a cease-***** in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the conflict nears its anniversary.

******-led militants stormed into southern ******* on Oct. 7, ******** some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be *****, after most of the rest were released during a weeklong cease-***** in November.

*******’s offensive has ******* over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count. It says women and children make up a little over half of those *******. ******* says it has ******* over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

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