Lebanon's deadliest day: Israel says it is dismantling Hezbollah, others warn of regional war
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valley on 23 September 2024.
Lebanon counted 492 dead and more than 1 600 wounded in Israeli air strikes, with 35 children and 58 women among the dead. That made it the single deadliest day since the end of Lebanon's civil war in 1990, said its health ministry. Meanwhile, it reported 180 rockets and drones launched into its territory from Lebanon over the same period, most of which were intercepted or landed harmlessly.Israeli officials celebrated what they described as successful day and suggested there would be more missile attacks, while insisting there were no plans for a ground offensive.
Netanyahu urged Israelis to remain united, assured them his government was"pre-empting" threats, and said Israel's "arm is still extended".Israel has suggested it is escalating the conflict with Hezbollah in search of ultimate de-escalation, with the promise that Israelis will be safe in the north of their country once the Hezbollah threat has been neutralised.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for an urgent meeting of Arab states so they could work jointly to stop Israel's"criminal behaviour". In Beirut, which was included among Israel's targets, parents scrambled to pull their children out of schools. Some there also said they had received telephone warnings from Israel.
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