Lebanon says 274 dead in Israeli strikes

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT — Israel unleashed its most widespread wave of airstrikes against hundreds of Hezbollah targets on Monday, killing at least 274 people by Lebanese tallies, and warned citizens to evacuate areas where it said the armed group was storing weapons.

The latest attacks came amid some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire in almost a year of conflict, as Israel shifts its focus to its northern border, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is fighting Israel's military assault in Gaza.

"We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon; the actions will continue until we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video published by his office on Monday. "These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure."

He was speaking after the Israeli military targeted Hezbollah in Lebanon's south, eastern Bekaa Valley and northern region near Syria.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that the toll stood at "274 dead including 21 children and 39 women — that's who we know about until now".

The Israeli military said on Monday it had struck about 800 targets connected to Hezbollah. "Among the targets struck were buildings where Hezbollah hid rockets, missiles, launchers, UAVs and additional terrorist infrastructure," it said.

In response, Hezbollah said on Monday it had launched rockets at Israeli military posts.

The airstrikes have intensified pressure on Hezbollah, which last week suffered an attack that its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah called "unprecedented in the history" of the group, after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded.

The operation was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

On Monday, residents of southern Lebanon received calls from a Lebanese number ordering them to immediately distance themselves 1,000 meters from any post used by Hezbollah, a Reuters reporter in the south, who received the call, said.

Evacuation calls have been received on phones as far as the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary said his ministry had received a call ordering the evacuation of the building, but said the ministry would do no such thing. "This is a psychological war," Makary told Reuters.

Agencies via Xinhua