Israel hits 300 targets in expanded Lebanon strike campaign against Hezbollah

The Israeli subject expanded its Lebanon run with hundreds of airstrikes aboriginal connected Monday, arsenic the long-simmering borderline struggle with Hezbollah threatened to detonate into a larger war.

Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck much than 300 targets successful confederate Lebanon connected Monday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said astatine slightest 182 radical were killed and much than 700 wounded successful the ongoing strikes, among them women, children and aesculapian personnel.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike connected Kfar Rouman village, arsenic seen from Marjayoun town, southbound Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.

AP Photo/Hussein Malla

The attacks coincided with a informing by from IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari of much planned Israeli strikes against Hezbollah "terrorist infrastructure" successful the borderline portion and elsewhere.

"Shortly, the IDF volition prosecute successful extensive, precise strikes, against panic targets which person been embedded wide passim Lebanon," Hagari said aboriginal Monday.

"We counsel civilians from Lebanese villages located successful and adjacent to buildings and areas utilized by Hezbollah for subject purposes, specified arsenic those utilized to store weapons, to instantly determination retired of harm's mode for their ain safety."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said successful a societal media station that Israel "will enactment with afloat force" to alteration the existent concern successful confederate Lebanon.

Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah, Katz said, "has taken the radical of Lebanon hostage, placing missiles and weapons successful their homes and villages to endanger Israel's civilians."

"This is simply a wide warfare crime," Katz said. "We volition not judge this reality."

"The radical of Lebanon indispensable evacuate immoderate location turned into a Hezbollah outpost to debar harm," Katz continued. "We volition not halt until the menace is removed from Israel's citizens and the residents of the northbound instrumentality safely to their homes."

Thousands of Lebanese compartment telephone users received a substance connection from the IDF connected Monday, warning: "If you are successful a gathering wherever Hezbollah weapons are located, enactment distant from the colony until further notice." Similar messages were issued implicit Lebanese radio.

The caller Israeli warnings travel aft a play of aggravated cross-border fire, with rockets, missiles and drones launched into Israel by Hezbollah met with Israeli airstrikes crossed confederate Lebanon.

Fighting betwixt the IDF and Hezbollah has been changeless since Oct. 8, erstwhile the Iranian-backed militant radical began attacks into Israel successful protestation of the Israeli penetration of the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas. Hezbollah has said it volition proceed its attacks until Israeli forces retreat from the Palestinian territory.

Tens of thousands of Israelis fled borderline regions nether Hezbollah occurrence since the warring began. Their instrumentality is simply a precedence for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

"We volition instrumentality immoderate enactment is indispensable to reconstruct information and to bring our radical harmless backmost to their homes," Netanyahu said connected Sunday.

Israeli leaders are besides demanding that Hezbollah retreat beyond the Litani River -- immoderate 18 miles northbound of the Israeli borderline -- arsenic stipulated successful a 2006 United Nations Security Council solution that sought to extremity the past large cross-border war.

"If the satellite does not retreat Hezbollah northbound of Litani successful accordance with Resolution 1701 -- Israel volition bash so," Katz said connected Sunday.

The struggle intensified past week with Israel's detonation of Hezbollah connection devices successful Lebanon and Syria, which Nasrallah described arsenic an "unprecedented blow" for the group.

Two consecutive days of explosions -- which killed astatine slightest 37 radical and wounded 2,931, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad -- were followed by the sidesplitting of Hezbollah operations main Ibrahim Aqil and 14 different members successful a Beirut airstrike.

The bombing successful the Hezbollah-aligned Dahiya suburb killed astatine slightest 45 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The dormant included astatine slightest 3 children -- aged 4, 6 and 10 -- and 7 women, the ministry said. Dozens much radical were wounded.

Hezbollah leaders said they would proceed their operations contempt past week's setbacks.

Deputy Secretary General Naim Qasem spoke astatine Aqil's ceremonial successful Beirut connected Sunday, telling hundreds of mourners that the struggle has present entered "a caller phase" which helium called an "open-ended conflict of reckoning".

"Threats won't halt us, and we don't fearfulness the astir unsafe possibilities," helium continued. "We are acceptable to look each subject scenarios."

Israeli communities successful the northbound of the state are braced for further escalation. The IDF issued caller information guidance connected Sunday closing schools and beaches successful the region, portion the Rambam Hospital successful Haifa transferred patients to an underground facility.

This weekend, the State Department reissued its level 4 "do not travel" informing for Lebanon, noting "recent explosions passim Lebanon, including Beirut."

The Department's July informing for American citizens to "depart Lebanon portion commercialized options inactive stay available" is unchanged. "At this time, commercialized flights are available, but astatine reduced capacity," the advisory said.

"If the information concern worsens, commercialized options to depart whitethorn go unavailable."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "reaffirmed the United States' committedness to Israel's close to support itself and stressed the value of achieving a diplomatic solution to instrumentality citizens to their homes successful the north" successful a Sunday telephone telephone with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, per a Pentagon readout.

Austin besides "emphasized his interest for the information and information of U.S. citizens successful the region," the Pentagon said.

ABC News' Dana Savir, Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.