US Sends More Troops To Mideast As Israel Strikes Beirut, Hezbollah Targets Haifa
Update(1312ET): For the second time since Friday, Israel has launched a major strike on the southern Beirut neighborhood of Dahiyam, in what the IDF says was a targeted strike on senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki. In last Friday's strike several Hezbollah commanders were taken out, in an attack which also left many civilian casualties. Karaki's fate is unclear at this point. He's widely reported to be Hezbollah's head of its southern front operations.
This has been the heaviest day of fighting in nearly a year since Oct.7, with the IDF saying by Monday evening it has struck about 800 targets in Lebanon today alone. "The IDF is striking to remove threats to Israeli civilians and degrade Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure and capabilities," a statement said. Israel has also just declared an emergency "special situation" for the entire country as this looks to be the start of all-out war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The total Lebanese death toll is fast approaching 300.
Thousands fleeing south Lebanon amid severe uptick in fighting:
The Pentagon has at the same time said it is deploying additional US troops to the region amid the escalation, but it's unclear where precisely the will be, or what the mission is. In total some 40,000 US troops are stationed in the broader region.
Not only are tens of thousands of panicked Lebanese fleeing the south, but Israelis in and near Haifa are also seeking shelter as Hezbollah rockets reach in and around the port city. Israel's Iron Dome has been intercepting inbound barrages all day, but some are clearly making it through.
Israel has declared an emergency "special situation":
The cabinet approves a “special situation” on Israel’s home front, according to multiple media reports.
A “special situation” is a legal term used in times of emergency, granting authorities greater jurisdiction over the civilian population in order to streamline efforts to safeguard the population. It is valid for 48 hours unless extended by cabinet ministers.
No specific changes in IDF Home Front Command instructions were announced.
...that sure sounds a lot like martial law.
Intercepts over Haifa...
No troops in 'combat zones'?
* * *
The government of Lebanon has ordered that classes be canceled for public and private schools across various parts of the country, especially in the south, as it is becoming evident that Israel-Hezbollah fighting is expanding, and with Israeli attacks getting bigger and bigger.
The current emergency directive will see schools closed for at least two days with extensions likely after that. The new measure is aimed at protecting civilians and impacts the governates of South Lebanon, Nabatieh, Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel and the southern suburbs, according to the education ministry.
Long lines of cars and traffic jams have been seen leaving southern Lebanon and some coastal towns for the capital of Beirut. The Israeli Defense Forces actually previewed that it plans to strike more residential buildings, and possibly even more locations in crowded Beirut.
It released a video graphic accusing Hezbollah of storing missiles and munitions among the civilian population - for example, under buildings. Critics have warned that Israel is opening justifying destroying civilian residences ahead of time, on the assumption they must have arsenals hidden within them.
The IDF has accused Hezbollah of hiding missiles, shoulder-fired rockets, and UAVs inside civilian homes and has warned it will use 'precision' strikes to take them out:
Israel now appears to be encouraging the depopulation of southern Lebanon so that it can expand the war. Many thousands have reportedly already fled as panic sets in.
Israeli Army Spokesman Daniel Hagari announced Monday: "To all the residents of villages in Lebanon, soon we will attack terrorist targets in Lebanon, we call on everyone who is near properties or inside houses where Hezbollah is hiding Ammunition to stay away from them immediately."
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said that the death toll from attacks on the country just from Monday so far have surpassed 182, with over 700 people wounded—though without specifying numbers of militants and civilians among these.
The death toll in Israeli attacks across Lebanon today has risen to 182, the Health Ministry announced. Another 727 people were wounded in the attacks.
Some of the Israeli strikes are reportedly reaching deep into Lebanon - far beyond the south. This is reflected in a fresh Hezbollah statement saying it has launched dozens of missiles against Israeli military posts "in response to the Israeli enemy attacks that targeted the south and Bekaa areas."
Hezbollah also claims to still be hitting the "Rafael defense industry complexes" which lies north of the city of Haifa. This also represents Hezbollah targeting Israeli locations deeper inside Israel than ever before.
In another ominous sign that things are sliding quickly toward all-out war, Lebanon’s Health Ministry has issued a fresh statement wherein it asks all hospitals in south and east Lebanon districts "to stop all non-essential surgery in order to make space to treat the wounded due to the expanding Israeli aggression on Lebanon."
Israeli towns in the north of the country are also taking precautions amid stepped-up Hezbollah rocket launches by moving hospital patients to underground facilities.
Meanwhile an Al Jazeera correspondent has described, "We saw intense strikes all day. We’ve heard drones and fighter jets. This is not an escalation any more, this is certainly a war all but in name."
Heavy strikes are hitting apparent ammo storage sites in the Bekaa Valley, some 20 miles east of Beirut...
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