Israel said on Tuesday it was intensifying its bombing campaign in Lebanon as two days of airstrikes targeting the Shiite Hezbollah militia sent the death toll above 550, including a rocket chief and two UN aid agency employees.
“We must not let Hezbollah rest. We must continue with all our strength,” the Israeli chief of staff, General Herzi Halevi, said, according to military sources.
The attacks are to be intensified and more military forces will be deployed, he said.
The Israeli Air Force said it had struck “Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon, including launchers, terrorist infrastructure sites and buildings in which weapons were stored.”
The Israeli military later announced it had killed Hezbollah’s rocket chief in the Beirut suburb of Ghobeiry.
They said Ibrahim Qubaisi was responsible for rocket attacks on Israel and for attacks on civilians. In addition to Qubaisi, other commanders in the rocket unit were also killed, a statement added.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 15 injured in the strike. Witnesses reported that two floors of a building had been destroyed and videos showed large clouds of smoke.
Militia hits back
Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon but is backed by Iran, has meanwhile launched further attacks on northern Israel.
The militia said it sent a volley of rockets at Israeli military bases, including the heavier Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 rockets.
The Iran-backed group said it targeted bases near the Israeli city of Haifa, a military airfield west of Afula and other locations including the town of Rosh Pina.
Israel’s army said it had registered around 215 projectiles fired into its territory, adding that Hezbollah has launched more than 8,800 rockets and drones in just under a year.
Until the recent escalation, Hezbollah had mainly used smaller rockets and drones against Israel.
Deadly days in Lebanon
The number of people killed in two days of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has meanwhile risen to 558, with some 1,835 injured, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said.
Some 50 children were among the dead, he said. The injured were being treated at over 54 hospitals and medical centres across Beirut and southern Lebanon, added Abiad, who is health minister in a caretaker government.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said two of its employees had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, adding it was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the deaths.
Dina Darwiche, from their Bekaa office in eastern Lebanon, died after the building she was residing in was hit by an Israeli missile on Monday, UNHCR said in a statement.
“Her husband and one of her children were rescued and are being treated in hospital for serious injuries. Dina and her youngest son’s bodies were tragically recovered today,” the statement said.
It added that Ali Basma, who also has worked in UNHCR’s Tyre office in southern Lebanon was confirmed dead on Monday.
As the war in Gaza approaches its first anniversary, the Israeli attacks mark a dramatic escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah to the north.
In another major blow to Hezbollah last week, many hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded across Lebanon. Many observers attributed the attack to Israel, although Israel has not officially claimed responsibility.
