Thousands of people continued to flee South Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes hit 1,300 positions on Monday, killing at least 492 people. It was the deadliest day in Lebanon since the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.
Israel and Hezbollah traded strikes again Tuesday. Israeli military officials said they carried out dozens of airstrikes against Hezbollah, while the militant group said it launched missiles overnight at eight sites in Israel, including an explosive factory 37 miles from the border.
The death toll has risen to 558 people in Lebanon since Monday, with an additional 1,835 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad.
No Israeli deaths have been reported since Monday. But two Israeli soldiers were killed and nine others wounded by Hezbollah missile and drone fire on Sept. 19, according to the Times of Israel.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated after twin attacks last Tuesday and Wednesday saw thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members explode across Lebanon. The attacks killed at least 39 people and injured 3,000, according to Reuters. While Israel has not confirmed or denied responsibility, press accounts and security officials blame Tel Aviv.
Read More: Fear Grips Lebanon After Deadly Pager and Radio Blasts
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in near-daily border fire since October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel’s northern region, in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The cross-border fire has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
But the scale and scope of Israeli attacks in the past week have raised fears of a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that could draw in Iran and the U.S. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday marked a “significant peak” in hostilities.
The same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to evacuate the South in a video message in English. “Starting this morning, the IDF has warned you to get out of harm’s way. I urge you, take this warning seriously,” he said.
Highways heading north in Lebanon remained gridlocked on Tuesday as families attempted to flee amid ongoing Israeli strikes. “I grabbed all the important papers and we got out. Strikes all around us. It was terrifying,” Abed Afou, a father of two, said in an interview with Reuters.
As of writing, 89 temporary shelters in schools and other public facilities have been set up in order to house the tens of thousands who are displaced. The shelters have capacity for 26,000 people, Nasser Yassin, the Lebanese minister in charge of the situation, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, hotels in the capital Beirut are now at capacity while many Lebanese offer up empty apartments or rooms, ITV News reported.