Death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon nears 500
ANKARA (AA) – The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday surged to 492, including women and children, according to official figures.
Some 58 women and 35 children were among those killed. In addition, 1,645 others were injured, said the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Health Minister Firas Abiad said earlier that the Israeli airstrikes forced thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon towards the north, particularly those near border areas.
Lebanese authorities said they opened schools and other institutions to accommodate civilians displaced by Israeli airstrikes in the country’s south.
In a statement, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he directed governors to cooperate fully with the mass evacuation from southern regions.
The Israeli army said late Monday that it struck more than 1,100 Hezbollah targets in the last 24 hours in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The army said it used more than 1,400 different munitions in some 650 sorties of its fighter jets over Lebanon.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people.
The international community has warned that the strikes on Lebanon raise the specter of expanding the war on Gaza into a regional conflagration.