An Israeli airstrike on Sidon, a coastal city in southern Lebanon, has left at least eight people dead and 25 wounded, according to the country’s health ministry. In another incident in the south, a strike on Zawtar al-Sharkiya resulted in three fatalities.
The ministry reported that a bombing in Marjayoun yesterday killed five individuals.
Israel confirmed that four of its soldiers lost their lives during fighting in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah stated that it launched a significant missile barrage at the Zevulon military industries facility located north of Haifa in northern Israel.
According to Israel’s ambulance service, one woman sustained serious injuries.
Simultaneously, the Israeli military has urged residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately to areas north of the Awali River.
Israel continues its intensive bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza.
The strikes have persisted without pause, occurring just a day after Israel’s targeted operations against Iran stirred concerns of a larger conflict.
The Israeli military reported that it had killed 70 Hezbollah fighters and struck 120 targets in southern Lebanon, including “precision strikes” on weapons factories and storage facilities in Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut over the previous day.
Images reveal damage from overnight Israeli airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburb of Hadath.
In Gaza, the military reported eliminating “40 terrorists over the past day.”
Local correspondents and witnesses confirmed that northern Gaza experienced heavy shelling.
This ongoing fighting coincides with the first anniversary, according to the Hebrew calendar, of Hamas’s deadly cross-border attack on October 7 of the previous year.
In response to yesterday’s Israeli airstrikes that killed at least four soldiers, Iran declared it had a “duty” to retaliate, although its military indicated a focus on achieving a ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Israel had concluded its strikes against Iran, stating that the recent attack was “precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives.”
In Gaza, described by UN human rights chief Volker Turk as facing its “darkest hour,” Israeli forces have resumed a ground and air campaign in the northern region, claiming the goal is to prevent Hamas from regrouping.
Southern cities have come under fire.
Smoke can be seen over the suburbs of Beirut following overnight assaults, which occurred after the Israeli military released new evacuation alerts.
The Lebanese news agency reported bombings in southern cities, including Tyre and Nabatiyeh.
Read more: Latest Middle East stories
The ongoing war has resulted in the deaths of at least 1,615 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official reports, although the actual figure may be higher due to reporting gaps.
The Israeli military confirmed that four of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, raising the total number of Israeli combat fatalities to 36 since the onset of ground operations on September 30.
World powers called for Iran and Israel to de-escalate tensions following a night of Israeli strikes aimed at Iranian missile facilities and military assets.
A photograph from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre captures smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby village.
Iran has downplayed the impact of these strikes, claiming that only a few radar systems were affected, while the United States has cautioned Tehran against responding.
Today, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the public on social media, asserting that the attack “should neither be exaggerated nor minimized.”
Khamenei emphasized that Iran should make it clear to Israel the “strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and its youth.”
Read more: Iran contemplates a response as Israel claims to have struck Iran decisively.
Earlier, the Iranian armed forces’ general staff remarked that while it is “reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate time,” Iran is focusing on establishing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Israeli opposition claims Iran should have faced a harsher response
Despite Netanyahu’s assertions that the strikes achieved Israeli objectives, other Israeli voices adopted a more aggressive tone.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir termed the strikes as an “opening blow,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid contended: “We could and should have made Iran pay a much heavier price.”
Israel claims the strikes against Iran were in retaliation for the October 1 incident, when Iran launched approximately 200 missiles in what was only its second direct assault on Israeli territory.
While most of these missiles were intercepted, one casualty was reported.
Yesterday marked Israel’s first official acknowledgment of an attack on Iran, although a previous strike on April 19 was generally attributed to Israel without official confirmation.
The strikes have been condemned by most of Iran’s neighbors, with many countries urging restraint from either side.
U.S. officials clarified that there was no direct American military involvement in Israel’s strikes, which they characterized as acts of self-defense.
