Lebanon
100 dead after Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon
Niklas Eriksson,
Martin Palmborg,
Ella Öfwerman
Updated 14.29 | Published 07.51
Israel has attacked over 300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
At least 100 people have died and over 400 have been injured, according to the Lebanese health authority.
- We are at a new stage in the war, says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
During Monday morning, the Israeli military (IDF) launched airstrikes against several targets in Lebanon.
Lebanese were also urged to evacuate villages near areas used by Hezbollah to store weapons and ammunition, as more airstrikes were planned for the day.
Residents in the southern parts of the country have been told to move at least one kilometer from any facilities used by Hezbollah. Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary announced that his ministry received a call calling for the evacuation of the building, which he described as "psychological warfare," Reuters reports.
- We are at a new stage in the war, in the coming days the public must show calm, says Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a statement.
Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary also said in a statement that his ministry received a call with orders to evacuate the building and called the warnings "psychological warfare", reports Reuters.
By noon, The Times of Israel reported that the IDF had struck more than 300 targets in Lebanon. At least 100 people have died and over 400 have been injured in the attacks, AP reports, citing Lebanon's health authority. That makes it the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October.
Children, women and healthcare workers must be among the victims.
Several attacks over the weekend
On Sunday, Hezbollah fired around 150 rockets at northern Israel in response to an IDF airstrike on Friday that killed the organization's top military leader, Ibrahim Aqil.
A military source told AP that Israel is focusing on airstrikes and that it has no immediate plans for a ground offensive. According to the source, the purpose of the attacks is to hinder Hezbollah's ability to carry out rocket attacks against Israel.
Hospitals in southern and eastern Lebanon are being asked to make room for the people injured in the airstrikes. The health authority also urges to pause all non-urgent surgery, AP writes.
Iran stops the use of communication devices
Martin Palmborg
Updated 08.46 | Published 07.27
Iran's Revolutionary Guard is halting the use of all its communications devices, Reuters reports.
The decision comes after the pager attack in Lebanon where up to 40 people died.
Now the Revolutionary Guard will examine all technical equipment.
Last week, pagers and other technological devices used by Lebanese Hezbollah exploded. Up to 40 people died and around 3,000 were injured.
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack, but Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Sky News yesterday that they were not involved.
Now Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Gurd Corps is stopping the use of all communication devices, two sources in Iran's security service told Reuters.
Iran worried about infiltration
One of the sources says that the Revolutionary Guard will now examine all technical equipment, not just the communication units.According to him, Iran is concerned that Israeli agents have infiltrated the Revolutionary Guard and they have now begun a thorough survey of the organization's members.
- This includes examining their bank accounts both in Iran and abroad, but also their and their families' travel history, the source told the news agency.
He states that they now use encrypted communication systems, but does not want to give any further details about these.
Iran has also received communications devices that exploded in Lebanon last week for further examination.
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