BEIRUT, (PIC)
Several Lebanese civilians were martyred on Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes targeting multiple towns in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese National News Agency, as Hezbollah continued rocket attacks on Israeli settlements.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has risen to 1,497, with 4,639 people injured.
Fighting intensified across the southern front, with Hezbollah launching around 40 rockets toward Israeli positions and settlements since midnight.
One barrage of 10 rockets targeted the city of Nahariya, injuring two people lightly and causing fires in vehicles, along with damage at several locations.
Hezbollah said in multiple statements that it carried out operations targeting Israeli military positions and gatherings of soldiers along the border and inside Lebanese territory, as well as strikes on settlements in the Galilee.
The group also reported targeting the towns of Metula, Natua, and Shlomi with rocket fire, and said it fired surface-to-air missiles at two Israeli helicopters over the town of al-Biyada, forcing them to withdraw.
Hezbollah added that it deployed two attack drones targeting Merkava tanks in the Taybeh project area, while also striking Israeli troops and vehicles in Markaba and near the Fatima Gate on the Lebanese border.
On the ground, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) said they had completed deployment along what they described as an “anti-tank defense line” in southern Lebanon, with the elite 98th Paratroopers Division joining ongoing ground operations.
The Israeli military said the division is carrying out focused ground operations after expanding its movements over the past week, alongside other units, including divisions 91, 36, 146, and 162.
It added that its forces continue operations to reinforce forward defense lines and remove what it described as threats to northern Israeli residents, while intensifying strikes on Hezbollah targets.
On Monday, IOF also targeted a major bridge over the Litani River, bringing the total number of Lebanese bridges hit to seven since the start of the operation, claiming the crossing was used to transport weapons and fighters.
