Egypt Daily News – The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Monday night that the number of fatalities from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has risen to 500.
The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health announced that among the dead are 35 children and 58 women.
The Israeli army stated that it targeted weapon sites belonging to Hezbollah, noting that the group stores cruise missiles, rocket munitions, rocket launchers, and drones inside civilian homes.
He indicated that it is in the process of expanding its airstrike campaign against what it claims are weapon sites belonging to Hezbollah in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Israeli army added that it has expanded its airstrikes to include areas in the Beqaa Valley along the eastern border of Lebanon, after targeting more than 300 sites in the south.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday destroyed tens of thousands of rockets belonging to Hezbollah, complicating the position of the Iran-backed group, which is facing the strongest strikes in its history.
Galant added in a statement: “Today is the peak of an important mission.” On this day, we decommissioned tens of thousands of missiles and precision munitions. “What Hezbollah has built over a period of 20 years since the Second Lebanon War is actually being destroyed by the Israeli army.”
Israeli security assessments reported that 50 percent of Hezbollah’s capabilities have been damaged since the beginning of the war, with most of the damage occurring in the last two days.
The wave of airstrikes comes after a tense day in which Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets at northern Israel, some of which fell near the city of Haifa, while Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes.
The Hezbollah missile attack came after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut on Friday, which resulted in the death of a military leader of the Lebanese group and more than 10 of its members, in addition to dozens of civilians, including women and children.
Last week thousands of radios, mainly used by Hizbullah members, exploded in various parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and injuring nearly 3,000.
Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but the latter neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
