Missiles struck southern Lebanon, shattering the morning silence Monday as Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah Weapons hidden in residential buildings. The explosions came as Israel announced a new wave of attacks against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon, warning civilians to flee any area where the organization had weapons or fighters positioned.
The warnings, delivered via automated phone calls, text messages and even, reportedly, on Lebanese radio stations hacked by the Israeli military, came after a weekend of deadly crossfire between the two sworn enemies in the heart of the Middle East.
Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets at once over the weekend, sending them deeper into northern Israel and “toward civilian areas,” according to the Israeli military, wounding at least three people and sowing further panic in a region where many villages have already been abandoned.
Aziz Taher/Reuters
In a video posted on social media, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee said Monday morning that raids on homes and other buildings used by Hezbollah to hide and launch weapons into Lebanon would “begin soon,” warning residents to follow the Israeli military’s orders to evacuate.
“Raids will begin soon. Immediately evacuate the houses where #Hezbollah has hidden weapons,” Adraee said in the video, speaking in Arabic. “Hezbollah is lying to you and sacrificing you.”
“We are intensifying our attacks in Lebanon, the actions will continue until we achieve our goal of returning the people of the north safely to their homes,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in his own video message, warning his country of “days ahead when the population will have to show composure.”
The warning to the Israelis was likely a reference to expected retaliation from Hezbollah or Other so-called proxy groups of Iran in the region.
CBS News
According to Lebanese state media, residents in Beirut and the south of the country, two areas where Hezbollah has long enjoyed significant support, have received automated phone messages warning them to evacuate. The French news agency AFP reported that a member of the office of Information Minister Ziad Makary received one of the calls.
The minister’s office told AFP that someone took a call on the office’s landline and heard a “recorded message” asking them to evacuate.
The warnings of what appears to be a significant escalation of Israel’s assault on Hezbollah come after a weekend of increased fire between the two sides on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group is a powerful political and military force.
Hezbollah began launching rocket and drone attacks on Israel as soon as Israel launched its offensive. war against Hamas in Gaza Hezbollah and Hamas were attacked in response to the October 7 terrorist attack. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran, Israel’s historic rival, and both have long been designated terrorist groups by the Israeli and U.S. governments.
The Israeli military has stepped up strikes against suspected Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in recent weeks, vowing to eliminate the threat they pose to allow the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of towns and villages in Israel’s northern border region who were evacuated due to cross-border fire.
As Israel steps up its offensive operations against Hezbollah, it does so with cautious support from the United States. The Biden administration has expressed concerns For months, retaliatory attacks by Israel and Hezbollah, simmering alongside the war in Gaza, have been escalating into a full-scale conflict. This concern is largely based on the assessment that a broader conflict in the Middle East would put American troops in increasing direct danger. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have US forces in the region have already been targeted with deadly drone strikes during the Gaza war.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant Saturday after a new round of Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel, and he “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself,” according to a Pentagon transcript of the call, but he also “stressed the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution” to the crisis and “his concern for the safety of American citizens in the region.”
The long-feared escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah – which is a much larger and better-equipped militant group than its ally Hamas – began to snowball last week with Israel’s covert, officially unclaimed operations aimed at blow up thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies Explosive devices were transported by Hezbollah members into Lebanon. The attacks killed about 40 people, including an unconfirmed number of Hezbollah members and at least two children, according to Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that the explosions were a “major blow” to the group, and accused Israel of not only violating “all red lines” with the attacks, but also of making a “declaration of war.”
Israel has not admitted to carrying out the complex attacks using rigged communications devices, but CBS News has learned that U.S. officials were tipped off by Israel about 20 minutes before the operations began, though no specific details have been shared. the methods to use.
