By William J. Furney
Israel’s two-day bombing campaign in southern Lebanon has claimed the lives of more than 560 people, including a top Hezbollah commander, intensifying fears that the region is on the verge of an all-out war. The Israeli military has launched extensive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions, prompting thousands of civilians to flee their homes in southern Lebanon and seek refuge in nearby cities.
The conflict reached a dangerous new threshold on Tuesday when Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, responded with dozens of rocket attacks on Israeli targets, marking their deepest strike into Israeli territory in nearly a year of escalating tensions. Air raid sirens blared across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as Hezbollah fired a long-range projectile that Israel said it intercepted.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile launched at what it called the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Israel retaliated by bombing the missile launch site in southern Lebanon. Despite the rising toll of casualties, there appears to be no immediate end in sight to the conflict, with both sides showing no signs of backing down.
Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds as Civilians Flee
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that over 1,800 people have been wounded in the strikes, with at least 50 children and 94 women among the dead. Entire families have been caught in the crossfire, and the fear of more airstrikes has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes. Many have sought refuge in Beirut and Sidon, where schools and public spaces have been turned into makeshift shelters.
“We struggled a lot on the road just to get here,” Issa Baydoun, who fled from the village of Shihine with his extended family, told the Associated Press news agency. “We evacuated our homes because Israel is targeting civilians and attacking them.”
In Sidon, as well as Beirut, families are sleeping in cars, parks and on the beach, with many too afraid to return to their homes. Volunteers in Beirut were cooking meals for displaced families at a gas station that had previously served as a relief centre during the devastating port explosion in 2020. Some families were attempting to leave Lebanon altogether, they told local media, resulting in heavy traffic at the border with Syria.
Targeted Assassination of Hezbollah Commander
One of the most significant developments in the ongoing Israeli strikes was the targeted assassination of Ibrahim Kobeisi, a senior Hezbollah commander who Israel claimed was responsible for rocket and missile launches into northern Israel. Kobeisi, who was linked to a deadly 2000 attack in which three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and killed, was killed in a strike on a southern Beirut suburb, where Hezbollah has a significant presence.
Hezbollah confirmed his death later on Tuesday, but the group has vowed to continue its attacks. Hezbollah fired 300 rockets in retaliation for the airstrikes, targeting several sites in Israel, including an explosives factory in Zichron Yaakov, about 60 kilometers from the Lebanese border. Hezbollah’s barrage injured six Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to local reports.
The scale of the violence marks the highest single-day death toll in Lebanon since the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, which lasted a month and resulted in heavy losses on both sides.
Families Mourn as Casualties Rise
The human cost of the conflict was painfully visible in the Lebanese village of Saksakieh on Tuesday, where mourners carried 11 bodies through the streets, including those of four women, a 7-year-old girl, and an infant. All had been killed in Monday’s bombardment. Some of the bodies were draped in Hezbollah flags, while others were wrapped in black cloth. A wreath of flowers was placed atop the smallest body, a grim reminder of the conflict’s indiscriminate toll.
Israel has insisted that its airstrikes are aimed solely at military targets. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a news briefing that the strikes have been focused on Hezbollah’s rocket launchers and weapons depots in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to the north. Hagari added that Israel’s goal is to keep its operations “as short as possible,” though he acknowledged the campaign could last longer than anticipated.
Rising Tensions Along the Border
The violence comes after months of escalating exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel, with Hezbollah regularly firing rockets and drones into northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas, the militant group controlling Gaza. In response, Israel has stepped up its airstrikes and assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, further raising tensions.
Satellite data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed widespread fires across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, indicating the extent of the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes.
Both sides are preparing for a prolonged conflict. The Israeli military has mobilized thousands of troops to the northern border, with additional forces being relocated from Gaza. Hezbollah, which is believed to have around 150,000 rockets and missiles, has fired some 9,000 projectiles toward Israel since October 2023, according to Israeli officials. Despite Israel’s superior air power, Hezbollah’s extensive missile capabilities pose a significant threat to Israeli cities.
International Response
The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on Wednesday to address the growing crisis in Lebanon, following a request by France. The international community has expressed alarm over the rapidly worsening situation, with fears that the conflict could spread beyond Lebanon and Israel’s borders.
In the meantime, the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon continues to deepen. Already reeling from a deadly attack on communications devices last week that killed 39 people and wounded nearly 3,000, Lebanon is struggling to cope with the influx of displaced people and the destruction of critical infrastructure.
As both sides brace for more bloodshed, hopes for a ceasefire remain distant, with neither Israel nor Hezbollah willing to compromise. For now, the skies over southern Lebanon remain filled with the roar of warplanes, and the suffering of civilians continues to mount.
* Image: IDF