On September 23, the Israeli military (IDF) claimed to have struck over 300 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese health ministry said the strikes killed at least 100 and wounded 400, AFP reported.
Hezbollah said it had struck three targets in northern Israel, including military production facilities, in response to intensive Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon.
"In response to the Israeli enemy attacks, which targeted southern areas and the Bekaa, Hezbollah fighters bombed two military positions in northern Israel as well as the Rafael defense industry complexes," the group said.
Earlier on 23 September, Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Halabi said schools in the country would be closed for at least the next two days.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attacks, which he described as a "war of extermination against Lebanon."
"The ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan that aims to destroy Lebanese villages and towns," Mikati said during a cabinet meeting.
He called on "the UN, the General Assembly and influential states to deter (Israeli) aggression."
BGNES recalls that on September 18, a wave of pager explosions killed 37 people and wounded 3,500 others in Lebanon. Beirut and its ally Iran blamed Israel for the attack.
On September 21, Israel carried out a series of strikes in southern Lebanon, with the IDF reporting that "thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers" had been destroyed. | BGNES
