Israel has attacked over 300 targets in Lebanon, and 50 people are believed to have died. There is currently no trace of Hamas leader al-Sinwar. All developments in the news blog.
12.46 pm: According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 50 people were killed and more than 300 injured in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon. Women and children were also among the victims.
The Israeli army says it has attacked more than 300 targets today alone. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi approved Hezbollah targets during discussions at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the army said.
The military accuses Hezbollah of deliberately hiding weapons in residential buildings, especially in the south of the country. According to Lebanese sources, around 60 villages were shelled. The army had previously issued warnings to the civilian population.
9.49 am: According to a local resident, a rocket hit the east of the Lebanese port city of Byblos. The uninhabited area has so far been spared from air raids. It is located between villages inhabited by Christians and Shiites. The Lebanese state media also reported a rocket hit in the area. Israel continued its attacks on positions of the Shiite Hezbollah militia on Monday.
7.20 am: The Israeli military has not ruled out a ground operation in Lebanon. When asked whether this was an option, military spokesman Daniel Hagari replied that they would do whatever was necessary to ensure that people could safely return to their evacuated homes in northern Israel.
At the same time, he accuses the terrorist group of deliberately hiding offensive weapons in civilians’ homes in southern Lebanon. “Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone,” Hagari continues. In doing so, the organization is endangering the citizens of its own country. He calls on all civilians who are near houses in which Hezbollah has hidden weapons to leave the area immediately.
5.03 am: Before the start of the UN General Debate, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned of an “escalation” and a “full-scale war” in the Middle East in view of the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. “There is great concern (…) about the possibility of an escalation in the region leading to a full-scale war,” Abdelatty told the AFP news agency on Sunday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The worsening situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border has “negative effects” on the negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said Abdelatty.
4.32 am: An Iraqi terrorist group claims to have attacked an Israeli military base with drones. The Israeli Golani observation base in the “occupied Palestinian territories” was attacked with drones in the early hours of the morning, according to the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”. Further details about damage or possible casualties are not yet known.
1.10 am: There is apparently confusion in Israel’s government and army about the whereabouts of Hamas terrorist leader Jihia al-Sinwar. While some officially unconfirmed media reports speak of a killing in one of the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the army is officially keeping quiet. A spokesman for the “Jerusalem Post” says that they can neither confirm nor deny these reports.
Government sources say that they simply do not know where the Hamas leader is. It is also possible that he has lost contact with intermediaries and therefore cannot be found. There was a radio silence like this last year. This was done to prevent the terrorist group Hamas from finding al-Sinwar.
