Israel blasted approximately 1,300 ‘Hezbollah weapons sites’ across Lebanon, killing 492 individuals and marking the deadliest day of fighting between the IDF and the paramilitary group since the 2006 war. Fatalities include 42 women and 24 children.

The Israeli military reported that it targeted over a thousand ‘Hezbollah weapon sites’ according to a Monday evening update. Some of these strikes hit residential areas in southern towns and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

The IDF has further advised residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes as they plan to expand their air campaign against Hezbollah. The strikes left over 1,645 people wounded, the Lebanese Health Minister said in a news conference.

These numbers are expected to grow as the Israeli Air Force “is continuing to target hundreds more Hezbollah sites tonight.”

Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said Mahmoud al Nader, the group’s field commander in southern Lebanon was killed in one of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Monday.

Lebanon’s prime minister has said Israel’s actions amount to “a war of extermination,” while IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the targets were largely weapons stored in homes, including “cruise missiles that can reach hundreds of kilometers, heavy rockets with a 1,000-kilogram warhead, medium-range rockets that reach a range of up to 200 kilometers, short-range rockets, and armed unmanned aerial vehicles.”

The IDF has offered photos posted on X showing rockets flying out of civilian buildings and stored inside family homes as they announced a ‘new phase’ of the fighting.

Additionally, strikes in Beirut reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki, the head of the Southern front. Hezbollah’s spokesperson updated that Karaki is okay and has been moved to a safe place.

Hezbollah has responded by firing 200 rockets towards Israel, some hitting the populated town of Haifa, with no injuries reported so far. Earlier today, Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired dozens of rockets in response at an Israeli military post in Galilee. It also targeted the facilities of the Rafael defense firm, headquartered in Haifa, for a second day.

Netanyahu said the strikes were conducted to “change the security balance,” and added that he wouldn’t tolerate weapons pointed at Israel. “To those who didn’t understand, I would like to clarify Israel’s policy: we’re not waiting for a threat, we are ahead of it. Everywhere, in every arena, anytime. We’re eliminating seniors, eliminating commanders, eliminating rockets – and counting. Those who will try to hurt us, we will hurt him gravely,” Netanyahu said.

The military announced plans to extend the airstrikes to include areas of the valley along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Hezbollah has a long-established presence in this valley, which is where the group was founded in 1982 with assistance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has reiterated warnings for residents to evacuate areas where Hezbollah is storing weapons, including in the valley.

Thousands of Lebanese citizens are fleeing the south, with the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon congested with vehicles heading towards Beirut. This mass exodus is the largest since the 2006 conflict.

In response to the crisis, the government has ordered schools and universities to close across most of the country on Tuesday and has begun preparing shelters to accommodate those displaced from the south.

These evacuation warnings, the first in nearly a year of escalating conflict, followed a heavy exchange of fire on Sunday when Hezbollah launched approximately 150 rockets, missiles, and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and numerous fighters.

The escalating strikes have stoked fears of full-scale war, even as Israel continues to combat Hamas in Gaza and attempts to recover hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Hezbollah has pledged to continue its strikes in solidarity with Palestinians and Hamas, another Iran-backed militant group. However, the Lebanese Shiite Muslim political party had previously launched rockets at northern Israel in April of 2023 amid escalating clashes.