Biden ‘Working To De-escalate’ As Israeli Strikes In Lebanon Kill 376, Moves More Troops To

At least 376 people were killed and thousands wounded after the Israeli military carried out some 300 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday.

This is the heaviest daily toll reported in nearly a year of cross-border clashes amid growing fears of a full-fledged war between the two sides that could upend the region.

“Israeli enemy strikes on southern towns and villages since this morning have killed 274 people and wounded 1,024 others,” a statement from the Lebanese health ministry said, adding that “children, women and paramedics” were among the casualties.

‘working to de-escalate’

President Joe Biden said on Monday that the United States was trying to calm the situation in Lebanon after Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds killed at least 274 people, including children.

“I’ve been briefed on the latest developments in Israel and Lebanon. My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely,” Biden said as he held talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House.

Get Out Of Harm’s Way

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanese people to move away from danger as the Israeli military pounded Hezbollah targets in the country’s south and east on Monday.

“Please, get out of harm’s way now. Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes,” Netanyahu said in a video statement shortly after the Israeli army announced it had struck 800 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Lloyd Dials Israeli Counterpart

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Austin voiced support for Israel’s right to self-defence as Hezbollah’s attacks escalate.

He , however, maintained the need for a diplomatic solution to ensure the safety of civilians and called for a ceasefire in Gaza to secure the release of hostages.

Austin also reiterated that the US is ready to protect its forces and deter any attempts to widen the conflict.

IDF Says it Struck 300 Targets in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a post on the social media platform X that more than 300 Hezbollah targets were struck in Lebanon on Monday.

The Israeli army also shared a photo showing what is believed to be military chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi approving additional attacks from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“The Chief of the General Staff approves strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon from the IDF Headquarters Underground Operations Center. So far, more than 300 Hezbollah targets have been struck today,” the post stated.

A pro-Israel channel on X also shared a video of IDF jets thundering through the skies over the Sinai village in Lebanon.

Hezbollah Strikes Back At Israeli Military Positions

Hezbollah said that it targeted three sites in northern Israel, including military production facilities, in retaliation for IDF strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon.

“In response to the Israeli enemy attacks that targeted the south and Bekaa areas”, Hezbollah fighters bombed two military positions in northern Israel, as well as the “Rafael Defense Industries complexes” north of Haifa, the group said in a release.

Hamas condemns Israel’s ‘barabaric aggression’

The Palestinian militant group Hamas also condemned Israel’s attack on southern Lebanon on Monday. “We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, affirm that this wide-scale barbaric aggression is a war crime,” the group stated, adding that they reaffirmed “our solidarity… with our brothers in Hezbollah and the brotherly Lebanese people”.

The attacks mark the largest escalation of violence between Hezbollah and Israel since the war in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7.

Iran warns Israel of ‘dangerous consequences’

Following deadly strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani called the Israeli strikes as “insane” and cautioned against “the dangerous consequences of the Zionists’ new adventure.”

Kanani said Israel’s “crimes” in Palestinian territories and their “expansion to Lebanon are a clear example of a serious threat to regional and international peace”.

He strongly criticised US support for Israel and called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take immediate action to halt these “crimes.”

Lebanon closes schools for 2 days

Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Halabi on Monday said that the schools in the country’s east and south as well as in Beirut’s southern suburbs would shut for two days as Israeli strikes intensified.

In a statement, Halabi announced the closure of public and private schools on Monday and Tuesday in the areas due to “security and military situations” that “pose a danger to the movement of students”.

Iraq’s Top Shiite Cleric Calls For Efforts To End Israeli Aggression

Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, on Monday urged for “every possible effort” to stop Israeli “aggression” against Lebanon, particularly targeting the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

Sistani called for actions to end this “barbaric aggression” and to protect the Lebanese people.

‘Destructive plan’

Earlier, a military spokesperson told news agency AFP that “in the morning there were about 150 strikes.” Shortly after IDF announced its military strikes, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced a “destructive plan” amid intense Israeli strikes Monday on east and south Lebanon.

“The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan that aims to destroy Lebanese villages and towns,” Mikati told a cabinet meeting. He urged “the United Nations and the General Assembly and influential countries… to deter the (Israeli) aggression”.

‘Stop all non-essential surgery’

Lebanon’s health ministry on Monday told hospitals in the south and east to stop all non-urgent surgery in order to handle the wounded from intense Israeli strikes. The ministry “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”, a statement said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant attended an assessment on the readiness of the home front amid widening fighting, The Time Of Israel reported. “Ahead of us are days when the public will have to show composure, discipline, and full obedience” to instructions by the Home Front Command, he said.

‘We advise civilians’

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military told people in Lebanon to move away from Hezbollah targets and vowed to carry out more “extensive and precise” strikes against the Iran-backed group.

“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety,” military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a media briefing.

(With inputs from agencies)