Women, children, and paramedics are among over 100 killed and 400 wounded by Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to the health ministry
More than 100 people have been killed and 400 wounded, “including women, children and paramedics”, from ongoing Israeli airstrikes in south Lebanon today, the country’s health ministry said.
This is the single highest daily death toll since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah started in October.
Residents from south Lebanon flee north following Israeli barrage
The Israeli aerial assault is the most intense yet, killing over 100 people and wounding over 400 more, including women, children and paramedics, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Monday.
Roads leading out of south Lebanon were choked with traffic as people fled the Israeli bombing. Areas that have served as safe zones for the displaced since last year have now found themselves within the crosshairs of the Israeli military.
“The airstrikes have reached us, on the outskirts of [Tyre]. There was a strike just 100 meters behind the [displacement] center, there were three of them,” Bilal Kashmar, a coordinator in a displacement center in the southern city of Tyre, said. He showed a video of a plume of smoke rising just across the street from the shelter which houses hundreds of families.
“The displaced have stopped coming to us, those that want to flee are leaving the south entirely,” Kashmar said.
Tyre has hosted thousands of individuals displaced by fighting, as the city has largely been spared by airstrikes until now. Prior to Monday’s fighting, a little over 110,000 were displaced from south Lebanon.
“The airstrikes aren’t stopping. People are scared,” Hassan Dabouk, the head of the Tyre Union of Municipalities, said.
Videos of collapsed buildings, bombs falling from the sky and resulting explosions that shook camera-people’s hands circulated on social media as people tried to track the extent of Israel’s bombing campaign. In one video, a driver films as smoke fills the air on the road ahead following a strike. “Stop, stop, stop!” One of the passengers yell as the video cuts.
“An important thing to note is that the roads are not safe. There is bombing from where we are [in Tyre] all the way to Saida. One needs to think before they leave in this situation,” Dabouk said.
Those who have loved ones in the south made public appeals for any empty apartments or rooms that might host their family members who fled Israeli airstrikes. Spontaneous initiatives to provide housing emerged, with individuals marshaling calls for available rooms and hostels offering discounted rates for displaced people.
“We are collecting numbers right now from people that have connections in safe areas, in Druze and Christian areas”, Faten Jebai, a journalist from south Lebanon, said. Jebai has urged those without a place to reach out to her, as she and other volunteers work to connect displaced those who will open up their homes or rent at low prices.
“More than 80 members of my family are now leaving the south, so I am searching for them but also for my friends and friends of the family,” Jebai added.
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