Southern Lebanon was crowded with fleeing civilians on Tuesday as Israel intensified an air campaign that gave the country its deadliest day since the war nearly two decades ago, while Hezbollah launched a new cross-border shelling.
Nearly 500 people were killed in Lebanon on Monday, according to local health authorities, in what was the country’s most devastating Israeli bombing since Israel’s 34-day war against Hezbollah in 2006.
The Health Ministry said at least 492 people were killed in Israeli attacks, including at least 25 children and 58 women, while around 1,650 people were injured.
Israel dramatically expanded its airstrikes after announcing it would intensify its campaign against Hezbollah following nearly a year of increasing hostilities with the Iran-backed militant and political group.
The Israeli military had ordered residents of southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate certain areas, causing thousands of people to leave their homes.
Images of families fleeing southern Lebanon and violent explosions on the horizon fueled fears of a full-scale regional conflict around the world.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, warned that the situation in Lebanon was “extremely dangerous and worrying”.
“I can say that we are almost in a full-blown war,” he told reporters on Monday, according to Reuters. “If that is not a war situation, I don’t know what to call it.”
Israeli shelling continued into Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces said they had attacked dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight and were carrying out further attacks as part of the so-called “Operation Northern Arrows.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel. The militant group said it would continue its campaign until the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip ended.
Israel has announced it will continue its attacks in Lebanon, saying this is necessary to ensure the safe return of Israelis to their homes in northern Israel, which many have been forced to flee due to months of deadly clashes.
