Israeli warplanes began a wave of airstrikes late Monday afternoon aimed at Hezbollah targets in the Beka’a Valley in eastern Lebanon after first issuing a two-hour warning non-combatants to evacuate for their own safety.
By 5 pm, the IDF had attacked some 800 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and in the Beka’a Valley, in eastern Lebanon. “Accurate intelligence” was used by fighter pilots to target sites the Iranian proxy has hidden away its rockets, missiles, launchers, suicide drones and other infrastructure.
Towards sunset, Israeli warplanes were attacking Hezbollah targets in Ba’albek, deep in the northeastern sector of Lebanon.
The IAF attacks came after the IDF had repeatedly urged non-combatants in the targeted areas to evacuate for their own safety.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that at least 275 people were killed, with 1,024 more wounded in the strikes as of 5:30 pm local time.
Lebanese sources quoted by Abu Ali Express reported the IDF attacked the Ahmaj area, Jarud Jabil early Monday morning for the first time since the start of the war. The area is located north of Beirut, on the way to Tripoli.
“We are preparing for a large-scale and targeted strike in Bek’aa Valley,” IDF military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a briefing, adding that Lebanese residents should “distance themselves” from Hezbollah sites “for your safety and protection.”
היידה pic.twitter.com/oloBsoaUWN
— בז news (@1717Bazz) September 23, 2024
Hezbollah stores its strategic weaponry in civilian buildings and uses the population as human shields, Hagari said. “The houses in Beka’a have rockets and drones. We will attack them before they pose a threat to the residents of Israel,” he warned.
Thousands of people were seen fleeing southern Lebanon, with traffic on the main north-south highway nearly at a standstill, packed with cars traveling north towards Beirut.
Lebanese media reported it was the largest such evacuation seen in the country since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Nevertheless, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer stopped short of calling the operation a “Third Lebanon War,” neatly sidestepping the question from a journalist at Monday’s afternoon briefing.
“The scenes that can be seen now in southern Lebanon show Hezbollah’s weapons exploding inside homes. Every house that we strike contains weapons—rockets, missiles, UAVs that are intended to kill Israeli civilians,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters.
A video posted by the IDF showed secondary explosions during a strike on a building in a southern Lebanese town where Hezbollah had squirreled away its weapons.
“The past week has been the most difficult in the history of Hezbollah’s existence. We will continue defending the State of Israel,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement published by his office.
The Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, also held a situational assessment Monday morning in the Northern Command’s Underground Operations Center with the commanders of the Fire Control Center Situation Room. In recent months, the Fire Control Center of the Northern Command has been leading strike efforts in the northern arena. The strikes are being carried out in cooperation and synchronization with the Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Air Force.
IDF Warns Lebanese Non-Combatants to Evacuate
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement on Monday morning that warnings were being “distributed in Arabic on all networks and platforms in Lebanon … Hezbollah is endangering you. Endangering you and your families,” he said.
Israel Warns Lebanese Civilians to Flee Hezbollah Combat Zone
Lebanese channels published documentation of the Israeli military taking over a radio frequency to broadcast a warning to residents in southern Lebanon shortly before 8 am.
The IDF also reportedly instructed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to move its personnel north of the Litani River, including evacuating its positions in southern Lebanon. “In a message on behalf of the IDF on the radio, the residents of southern Lebanon are asked to evacuate from areas where there are Hezbollah weapons,” the broadcast said.
Lebanese channels publish documentation of the #IDF taking over a radio frequency and broadcasting a message to the residents of southern #Lebanon this morning shortly before eight o'clock.
In a message on behalf of the IDF on the radio, (1/2) pic.twitter.com/ZNGSo1HBRK— Abu Ali Express English (@AbuAliEnglishB1) September 23, 2024
Evacuation warnings were also sent to Lebanese cell phones, and called in to some 80,000 residential homes.
“A call to the residents of the Lebanese villages in the Bekaa region: Residents who are near or inside buildings and houses in which missiles and weapons are stored – move away from them immediately,” IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned in a post on the X social media platform.
“This is a specific warning to the villages in the Beka’a Valley in Lebanon. Residents who are near or inside homes where missiles and weapons are stored – move away immediately for your own safety. You are watching our operations in the southern Lebanon area where Hezbollah is preparing to fire its weapons at Israel and we will not allow that. Move away from these homes for your own safety. Hezbollah is lying to you and putting you in danger,” Adraee wrote.
He added that the residents had a two-hour window in which to leave before Israeli warplanes began their attacks.
