Lebanon says Israeli airstrikes killed 500, injured 1,600
VOV correspondent in Egypt -
(VOVWORLD) - Fighting has escalated on the Israeli-Lebanese border, where Israeli airstrikes killed 500 people and injured 1,600, most of them women, children, and rescue workers, Lebanese health authorities said on Monday. Local authorities ordered schools closed and converted into shelters.
 The aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, on September 21, 2024. (Photo: Reuters) |
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that the Israeli Air Force struck 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in the last 24 hours. The IDF warned that it is ready to send troops into Lebanon to push Hezbollah away from the border. A senior US State Department official, responding to Israel's plan for a ground attack on Lebanon, said Washington opposes it, because they don’t believe it will reduce tensions in the region.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the United Nations and world powers to deter what he called an Israeli plan to destroy Lebanese villages and towns.
At a press conference while attending the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of seeking a wider conflict in the Middle East.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israel's attacks on Lebanon mark a new phase in its efforts to drag the entire region into chaos.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denounced any violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territory and condemned the dangerous Israeli escalation. It called on the UN Security Council to intervene immediately to stop the escalation in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for an emergency meeting of Arab states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
VOV correspondent in Egypt