Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 50 children as thousands flee amid fresh attack— live

Around 100 projectiles, including rockets, were launched towards Israel by Hezbollah since midnight, the Israeli military says.

Lower Galilee and HaAmakim appear to be the targets of most of the rockets, a spokesperson told CNN.

Upper Galilee and Haifa were both also targeted, with buildings damaged and fires started in the north.

Most of the projectiles fired at Israel were intercepted by the Israeli military, it claims.

It comes as Israel continues to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, having ramped up strikes once again in the last couple of hours.

The number killed by Israeli strikes on Lebanon this week has risen to 558 including 50 children, the Lebanese health minister said.

Firass Abiad added that 94 women were included in the dead, and 1,835 have been injured.

The death count was last counted at 492 and 1,645 wounded yesterday.

Beirut’s main airport, Rafic Hariri, has announced that at least 40 flights were cancelled as of Tuesday morning.

The airport’s website shows dozens of cancelations including for trips between Germany, France, Turkey, Iraq and Qatar.

Aviation authorities in Lebanon have denied that any full flight suspensions are taking place, and confirmed cancellations by certain airlines due to Israeli strikes.

Israeli airstrikes are building up again on Lebanon, according to reports on Israeli radio.

A brief lull in strikes appears to have ended, after nearly 500 people were killed on Monday.

Lebanese state news agency NNA said on Tuesday: “Hostile airstrikes resumed on Baalbek and its surrounding areas, targeting Al-Tal Al-Abyad district at the northern entrance of Baalbek, the town of Talia, and the outskirts of Shamstar.”

Sky News reports that four strikes hit the area around Tyre, southern Lebanon, within a few minutes.

Israeli army radio confirmed that another wave of strikes is underway.

Israeli officials say they have not yet made an official decision to expand military operations against Hezbollah – and have not said publicly what those operations might be. Last week, however, the head of Israel’s Northern Command was quoted in local media as advocating for a ground invasion of Lebanon.

Meanwhile, as fighting in Gaza has slowed, Israel has increased its forces along the Lebanese border, including the arrival of a powerful army division believed to include thousands of troops.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant last week declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus towards Hezbollah.

“The centre of gravity is shifting to the north,” he said.

A UN-brokered truce to the 2006 war called on Hezbollah to pull back 29 kilometres (18 miles) from the border, but it has refused, accusing Israel of also failing to carry out some provisions.

Israel is now demanding Hezbollah withdraw eight to 10 kilometres (five to six miles) from the border – the range of Hezbollah’s anti-tank guided missiles.

A small number of US troops will be sent to the MIddle East following escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Pentagon said.

It is unclear how many troops will be deployed and whether they have a specific mission, The Guardian reports.

Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told reporters: “Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region.”

“We have more capability in the region today than we did on April 14th when Iran conducted its drone and missile attack against Israel.”

Ryder referred to a 300-missile attack by Iran which sustained modest damage inside Israel after being intercepted by western air defence.

Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern in a statement on Monday over security developments in Lebanon, warning of escalating violence and urging all parties to exercise restraint, state news agency SPA reported.

Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, killing 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, as the Israeli military called on residents to immediately evacuate places where it claimed the Hezbollah militant group stores weapons.

Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

More than 1,645 people were wounded in the strikes, the Health Ministry said, a staggering one-day toll for the country.

Below we take a look at where Israel struck southern Lebanon throughout yesterday.

Almost 500 people were killed in the strikes, the deadliest in nearly two decades.