Jerusalem/Beirut – Israeli army’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced the launch of an ‘offensive campaign’ against the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which he said might take several days.
“We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah and must be prepared for several days of fighting,” Zamir said in a statement.
“We are not only on the defensive lines; we are moving to the offensive,” he added, stressing the need to strengthen defensive readiness and continue waves of airstrikes.
The announcement comes amid field escalation on Monday, as the Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs and the south have killed at least 31 people and injured 149 others, according to data based on non-final figures.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army said it had targeted Hezbollah sites across Lebanon in response to rocket fire launched by the group toward northern Israel.
For its part, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had targeted a military site in northern Israel with a barrage of rockets and a swarm of drones, in response to ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and after a joint US-Israeli military campaign launched on Saturday killed several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Hezbollah chief targeted
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem is now a ‘marked target for elimination’.
Writing on US social media company X, Katz vowed that Hezbollah ‘will pay a heavy price for the firing toward Israel’.
“Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s secretary general, who decided on the firing under pressure from Iran, from now on, is a marked target for elimination,” he added.
“Whoever follows in (Ali) Khamenei’s path will soon find himself with him in the depths of hell alongside all those eliminated from the axis of evil,” Katz said.
The overnight strikes
The overnight strikes, which killed dozens, were carried out by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) across southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district, the Times of Israel reported on Monday, citing Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
According to the Times of Israel, the areas are known for being Hezbollah strongholds; however, the ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and members of Hezbollah among the casualties.
The IDF confirmed the attacks, stating that the strikes targeted Hezbollah positions in retaliation for a rocket barrage fired by the Iranian-backed group toward northern Israel.
The escalating conflict in West Asia widened on Monday following Israel’s airstrikes on Hezbollah targets.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a series of posts on X that it carried out targeted strikes against senior members of Hezbollah in the Beirut area in response to the projectile fire launched toward Israel, particularly towards the north of the country.
“The Air Force struck a short time ago in a targeted manner, senior members from the Hezbollah organisation in the Beirut area. In parallel, the IDF struck a central member from the Hezbollah organisation in southern Lebanon. Further details to follow,” the Israeli Air Force said.
The latest exchange of fire marks a significant widening of hostilities in the region, which has witnessed an unprecedented amount of projectile firing across several regional countries.
According to the Times of Israel, this marks the first such confrontation since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.
Agencies
