Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killed at least 492 people Monday, including 35 children, the health ministry said, marking the deadliest day of cross-border violence since the Gaza war began.
Arab states strongly condemned Israel for the escalating hostilities with Hezbollah, which have intensified to levels unseen in nearly a year.
Israel said it killed a “large number” of Hezbollah fighters when it hit about 1,300 sites in southern and eastern Lebanon, including a “targeted strike” in Beirut.
Hezbollah said Ali Karake, its third-in-command, was alive and had moved to safety after a source said the strike on the capital targeted him.
State media reported new raids in eastern Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it targeted five sites in Israel.
In the coastal Israeli city of Haifa, people were seen running for cover when air raid sirens sounded.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounded 1,645 others. Health Minister Firass Abiad said “thousands of families” had been displaced.
Explosions near the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Israel warned people in Lebanon to evacuate areas where it said the armed movement was storing weapons.
Nasser Yassin, the Lebanese minister coordinating the crisis response, said 89 temporary shelters in schools and the like had been activated, with capacity for more than 26,000 people as civilians fled “Israeli atrocities”.
After almost a year of war against Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to the northern frontier, where Iran-backed Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas.
Israel’s military said it had struck Hezbollah in Lebanon’s south, east and north.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “On this day we have taken out of order tens of thousands of rockets and precise munition.”
The Israeli air force said on X it had carried out about 650 strike missions in the past 24 hours, attacking more than 1,100 targets using more than 1,400 munitions.
In response to the strikes, Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of missiles at a military base in northern Israel.
More attacks were expected in Lebanon.
Israel’s military spokesperson said Israeli aircraft were preparing to attack strategic Hezbollah weapons stashed in houses in the Bekaa valley and urged civilians to evacuate.
The strikes have redoubled the pressure on Hezbollah, which last week suffered losses when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded.
![Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226680.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226679.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP
![Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226341.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP
![Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226681.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![Members of Lebanese Army stand as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Members of Lebanese Army stand as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226684.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Members of Lebanese Army stand as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![Internally displaced boys who fled with their family from southern Lebanon villages react at a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Internally displaced boys who fled with their family from southern Lebanon villages react at a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226683.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Internally displaced boys who fled with their family from southern Lebanon villages react at a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226338.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![People who fled their villages in southern Lebanon are received at an art institute transformed to a shelter for persons displaced by conflict, in Beirut on Monday. AFP People who fled their villages in southern Lebanon are received at an art institute transformed to a shelter for persons displaced by conflict, in Beirut on Monday. AFP](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226678.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
People who fled their villages in southern Lebanon are received at an art institute transformed to a shelter for persons displaced by conflict, in Beirut on Monday. AFP
![People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment, in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment, in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226339.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
People in heavy traffic drive north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some of them flee Israeli bombardment, in Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![A vehicle moves as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS A vehicle moves as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226682.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
A vehicle moves as people gather near the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226680.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Internally displaced boy who fled from southern Lebanon village reacts at the entrance of a makeshift shelter in Dekwaneh, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS
![Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226679.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Emergency responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. AFP
![Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226341.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on Monday. AFP
![Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2024/09/23/226681.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)
Cars go north from Lebanon's southern coastal city Sidon as some Lebanese flee heavy Israeli bombardment, Lebanon on Monday. REUTERS