Beirut, Sep 23 (EFE).- Israeli air strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon on Monday have killed at least 274 people and injured more than 1,000, the Lebanese public health minister Firas Abiad said.
Evacuations were underway for areas in the south near the border with Israel.
Israel said it had struck 300 targets in southern Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley, strongholds of the Shiite group Hezbollah.
Abiad said that some of the bombs had struck ambulances and medical centers.
The airstrikes come as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah – which have been ongoing since Oct. 8 , the day after Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel – intensified in the past week.
On September 17 and 18, thousands of communication devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously and several of the group’s senior commanders were among the 80 killed. Some 3,000 people were injured.
Those explosions have been followed by massive Israeli bombing campaigns, while Hezbollah has fired hundreds of missiles into northern Israel.
At a press conference on Monday, a senior Israeli military official explained that the country was focusing on its air campaign against Hezbollah, with no troop mobilizations planned for the moment.
Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that the attacks would continue until the 60,000 residents of northern Israel who have been displaced by the near daily Hezbollah rocket fire are able to return to their homes.
The IDF said it had warned citizens in Lebanon on Monday morning to stay away from buildings used by Hezbollah to store weapons, saying that it would be launching a series of attacks against militia targets in the country. EFE
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