Israeli airstrikes on Southern and Eastern Lebanon have killed 492 people and injured 1,645 others. This escalation resulted in the deadliest day in cross-border conflict since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Of those killed, 58 were women and 35 were children.

Thousands of civilians have fled southern Lebanon following evacuation orders from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) causing traffic jams on the main highway to Beirut. Over 110,000 civilians have been displaced from the south of Lebanon since October 7 2024.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari alleged that Hezbollah is using residential areas to house weapons and residents should evacuate as the IDF is targeting those areas.

“I urge the Lebanese residents of the villages in the Beqaa Valley who are inside or near houses where rockets and weapons are stored, to move away immediately!” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned civilians on X, formerly known as Twitter, to get out of harms way and not to “let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon.”

“Israel’s war is not with you,” he said. “It’s with Hezbollah.”

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a constant but limited conflict. However, fear of an all out war between the two is slowly increasing after these new strikes and an attack last week that killed 42 people and injured more than 3,000.

Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said on X that Australians in Lebanon should leave while there are still commercial flights available.

“Australia is gravely concerned about escalation in the Middle East,” she said. “Further hostilities put civilians at risk.”

Netanyahu said on X that he would change the balance of forces in the north, and would destroy the alleged artillery in Lebanon.

“We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” he said.

Photo: Hezbollah Flag by Upyernoz is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.