Israeli attacks kill 105 people in Lebanon as war escalates | Attacks between Israel and Lebanon News

Lebanon endured another bloody day as relentless Israeli bombardments killed at least 105 people and injured 359 others across the country, according to health officials.

A single attack in Ain al-Delb, near southern Sidon, leveled two residential buildings and killed 32 people, Lebanon's health ministry said. The victims included many displaced families who sought shelter locally.

Several Lebanese politicians described the attack as a “massacre.”

While Israel said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets, Lebanese officials said the bombing hit homes and buildings in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa region, Baalbek-Hermel governorate and Beirut's southern suburbs.

In the early hours of Monday, local media reported an Israeli airstrike in the Kola Bridge area in the heart of Beirut. The bombing is Israel's first attack within the city's borders since hostilities began last year and is likely seen as a further escalation of the conflict.

The bombing of the city of Beirut suggests that the Lebanese capital, previously seen as a safe haven from Israeli attacks, is now also in the firing line – like much of the rest of the country.

At least three people were killed in the attack, Lebanese news agencies reported.

It came two days after Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a massive series of airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs that leveled several buildings.

The Israeli military also killed Hezbollah's top political official, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, on Sunday.

The group has not announced succession plans to replace its slain leader – who was seen as a key figure in the group's previous confrontations with Israel, including the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000.

Displacement crisis

Hezbollah on Sunday dismissed media reports about its plans to replace Nasrallah, stressing that any news of organizational changes within the group has no value “unless it is confirmed by an official statement from the party.”

Despite the severe damage that the Israeli attacks have inflicted on Hezbollah's political and military leadership, the group continued to launch attacks against Israel on Sunday.

Hezbollah announced several military operations against Israeli bases and a rocket attack on the city of Safad.

Israel launched a major bombing campaign into Lebanon on September 23 with the stated aim of driving Hezbollah from its border.

The offensive has killed hundreds of people and left widespread destruction in villages and towns across Lebanon – particularly in the south of the country.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday that up to a million people had been displaced by the violence and accused Israel of carrying out “daily criminal operations” across the country.

Mikati said about 118,000 displaced people were staying in 778 designated shelters, but the actual number was much higher because many people were staying with friends and relatives or renting out their own accommodation.

“A million people have moved from one place to another in just a few days in the region’s largest displacement crisis,” he said.

When Israel began attacking southern Lebanon earlier this month, it warned people to leave areas where Hezbollah may be storing weapons before bombing homes in hundreds of villages across the region in a seemingly unprecedented campaign.

Then early Saturday, the Israeli military issued specific evacuation orders for large parts of Beirut's southern suburbs – similar to the forced relocation orders used in Gaza last year.

This led to thousands of people desperately trying to reach Beirut city limits. Many slept on the city's streets and beaches.

Ali Hijazi, Lebanon director of the international charity Lutheran World Relief, said displaced Lebanese fleeing for their lives had to leave their homes in minutes with few belongings.

“People are really living in fear now and really going into the unknown,” Hijazi told Al Jazeera.

“They're very scared and worried about whether this crisis will last longer… they're really in limbo.”

escalation

Since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, there have been daily clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Lebanese group said it would continue its attacks on Israeli bases in the north of the country until Israel ends its Gaza offensive.

For months the violence remained confined to the border region. But earlier this month, Israel launched an escalating campaign against Hezbollah.

On September 17 and 18, Hezbollah's booby-trapped wireless communications equipment exploded across Lebanon, injuring thousands and killing dozens, including civilians. Lebanon blamed Israel for the unprecedented attack.

Days later, an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs against a senior Hezbollah commander killed at least 45 people and injured dozens more.

The fighting now increasingly resembles an all-out war. Yemen's Houthis and Iran-linked Iraqi armed organizations have also fired rockets and drones at Israel in support of Hezbollah and Palestinian groups in Gaza.

On Sunday, Israel carried out airstrikes on ports and power plants in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has continued its offensive in Gaza, killing more than 41,500 Palestinians and destroying large swathes of the territory.