Israeli army announces dropping over 2,000 bombs on Lebanon

The Israeli army has announced that it carried out its third airstrike on Lebanon since Tuesday morning, while also admitting to having dropped over 2,000 bombs on the country since Monday morning.

The Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that warplanes targeted southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region for the third time in one day. The strikes reportedly hit 1,500 Hezbollah-linked targets, while drones targeted hundreds of other locations.

In a statement, the Israeli army declared that it had dropped more than 2,000 bombs on Lebanon since Monday morning.

Hezbollah fires Fadi-3 missile for the first time

In response, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted an Israeli military base using its newly introduced “Fadi-3” missile. The group emphasized that the strikes were intended to show solidarity with “the resistance of the Palestinian people in Gaza” and to “protect Lebanon and its people.”

Hezbollah further claimed responsibility for attacking Israel’s northern Nimra military base with rockets and its Eliakim base near southern Haifa with a “Fadi-2” missile. The group also revealed that it had fired its “Fadi-3” missile for the first time, targeting Israel’s Shimshon military base near Nazareth.

Due to rockets fired from Lebanon, air raid sirens sounded in coastal areas around Haifa, with explosions heard as Israel’s defense systems intercepted missiles. Debris from these rockets reportedly landed in the Krayot area near Haifa, as well as in the northern coastal cities of Akko and western Galilee, causing damage to vehicles in some areas.

Israeli media reported that approximately 160 rockets were fired from Lebanon throughout the day, with 60 launched within a single hour.

558 people killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, as well as the Bekaa and Baalbek regions, have killed 558 people, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The ministry reported that 50 children and 95 women were among the dead, with an additional 1,835 people wounded.

A wave of displacement from southern Lebanon to the capital, Beirut, and northern areas continues. The Israeli government, meanwhile, stated that ensuring the safe return of citizens evacuated from northern regions near the Lebanon border is one of the war’s objectives.

Hezbollah, however, reiterated that the conflict in the region will only cease if Israel halts its ongoing attacks on Gaza.

2 UN refugee agency staff members killed by Israel in Lebanon

Two staff members of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) were among the 558 people killed in Lebanon on Monday, the organization’s chief confirmed on Tuesday.

In a post to X, Filippo Grandi took aim at Israeli airstrikes which he said were “relentlessly claiming hundreds of civilian lives.”

“On behalf of all us at UNHCR, heartfelt condolences to their families, friends and colleagues,” he added.

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon are now relentlessly claiming hundreds of civilian lives.

And I am very saddened to confirm that two UNHCR colleagues were also killed yesterday.

On behalf of all us at UNHCR, heartfelt condolences to their families, friends and colleagues.

— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) September 24, 2024