Israel struck more than 1,300 Hezbollah strongholds on Monday as it works to change the "balance of power in the north," provoking retaliatory strikes by the terror group that shows no sign of slowing down.
More than 270 people were killed and around 1,000 wounded when Israeli warplanes dropped cruise missiles on a bevy of sites across southern and eastern Lebanon, marking the most intense and deadly day of fighting since Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah.
An Israeli military spokesman said the rising death toll in Lebanon likely accounts for the "many terrorists we killed today who were near the weapons." Israel will publish its own data at some point in the future.
"Challenging days are ahead" for the Jewish people, the spokesman said, noting that military forces are fully focused "on defense and attack on all fronts," including the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where Israel continues to conduct security raids.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes marked an ongoing effort to "change the security balance, the balance of power in the north."
"I promised that we would change the balance of power in the north, and this is exactly what we are doing. For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel's policy—we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it," Netanyahu said following a Monday meeting with military advisers in Tel Aviv. "Anywhere, in any arena, at any time, we eliminate senior officials, we eliminate terrorists, we eliminate missiles."
"Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more," Netanyahu said after Israeli forces used heavy rockets, 1,000kg warheads, and armed drones to destroy Hezbollah operation centers. "I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north—this is exactly what we are doing. We destroy thousands of missiles and rockets aimed at Israeli cities and Israeli citizens."
Israel’s offensive, described by officials as "a new stage" in the war against Hezbollah, is designed to destroy the terror group’s massive cache of advanced Iranian arms, preventing it from bombarding Israel's northern territories. At least 50,000 Israelis, under threat from a near-constant volley of Hezbollah missiles and drones, have been displaced from their homes for nearly a year.
Israel reportedly targeted Hezbollah storage facilities, including those located within civilian homes, that contained long-range missiles, the type used to strike densely populated areas throughout the Jewish state. Israel sent text messages and made phone calls to scores of civilians in these areas, warning them to move away from Hezbollah depots ahead of the airstrikes. Israel also targeted Hezbollah's third-in-command, Ali Karaki, part of the terror group's "Jihad Council," in a Beirut strike. Lebanese sources reported that Karaki was killed in the strike, though Hezbollah later said he survived it.
WATCH: Videos of secondary explosions during an Israeli strike prove that Hezbollah's weapons are hidden inside civilian homes.
Every house Israel strikes contains weapons—rockets, missiles, UAVs intended to kill Israeli civilians.
Hezbollah stores strategic weapons in civilian… pic.twitter.com/0srieKsWwz
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) September 23, 2024
It appears that the IDF strike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah senior commander Ali Karaki, the third-highest official in the terrorist organization.
Minutes later, Hezbollah launched the largest barrage of rockets towards Israel since the start of the war. pic.twitter.com/w6xyXEcS1Z
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) September 23, 2024
Friday’s mass attack drew a fierce response from Hezbollah, with the terror group launching missiles deep into central Israel. Air sirens rang as far as the Tel Aviv area, signaling that Hezbollah is willing to target the Jewish state’s most populated areas. Large cities in Israel’s north, such as Haifa and Nahariya, remain on edge as residents brace for further strikes. Israel says 165 rockets and other munitions were launched in their territory today, with more expected.
For nearly a year, Hezbollah concentrated its fire on Israel’s north, avoiding deeper strikes that would provoke a harsh response. But since last week’s mass pager and radio attacks, both sides are signaling that escalation is the only option as the region braces for a full-blown war.
"We have entered a new phase, the title of which is the open-ended battle of reckoning," Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, said on Sunday after the terror group launched more than 150 cruise missiles and drones at towns deep inside Israel. The terror group vowed to continue fighting until Israel inks a ceasefire with Hamas, the Iran-backed terror group waging war on Israel’s southern areas.
Hezbollah is using advanced, "highly explosive" surface-to-surface rockets as it targets Israeli military installations, according to Iran’s state-controlled press. These missiles are designed to "disrupt supply routes and target bases far from the frontlines," enabling Hezbollah to "overwhelm air defense systems."
Iran is already warning Israel of "dangerous consequences" if it continues engaging Hezbollah, with the country’s foreign minister describing this weekend’s strikes as "insane."
Residents across southern Lebanon scrambled to flee the area amid Israel's airstrikes, with traffic jams forming along highways in the area.
Israeli military officials said today's strikes are just the beginning of a longer offensive meant to secure the country's northern border with Lebanon. Israel will be "striking targets and preparing for the next phases" of the war, according to Israeli Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi. "Ultimately, everything is focused on creating the conditions to return the residents of the north to their homes."
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that Israel's war "is not" on the people of Lebanon but rather with Hezbollah forces embedded across the country.
"For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens," Netanyahu said.
The Pentagon announced Monday afternoon that it is deploying additional forces to the region, joining the more than 40,000 already stationed there along with American warships and fighter jets.
World leaders, including the United States, urged the sides to exercise restraint, fearing a full-blown war that already seems to have arrived.
White House spokesman John Kirby touted the Biden-Harris administration's "quite assertive diplomacy" and expressed concern on Sunday with "the escalating tensions in the region."
"We don’t believe, continue to not believe, that kinetic action, military action, by either side is really in either side’s best interest," Kirby said during a Sunday TV appearance.
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres said "another Gaza" is brewing in Lebanon and warned the Middle East is on the brink of "catastrophe."
Update 2:30 p.m.: This piece has been updated with additional information.