Thousand flee homes in Lebanon as Israeli strikes intensify

By Nathan Morley

Hezbollah says it has attacked military targets in a series of rocket salvoes in northern Israel.

The attacks come following Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Monday which killed nearly 500 people.

The Israeli strikes made Monday the deadliest day in Lebanon in recent decades.

Thousand of people have been fleeing their homes, with reports that over 1,500 people were injured. Northbound roads were clogged with traffic as civilians tried to escape the cross-border escalation.

International responses

Meanwhile, the US government says it will present ‘concrete plans’ for ending the crisis in Lebanon at the UN later this week. Washington will also send a small number of additional military personnel to the region. 

In Brussels, the EU’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell warned that the conflict was turning into a full-fledged war. At the same time, the UN Secretary General, Antion Guterres, has expressed ‘grave concern’ for civilians.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified last year, following a volley of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023. 

Israel then hit back by firing heavy artillery toward south-eastern Lebanon.