Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon have forced around one million people to flee their homes, the country’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has estimated. He claimed that the sheer extent of the exodus is unprecedented in the country’s history.
Israel and Hezbollah have sporadically exchanged fire since the former launched a military operation in Gaza in response to Hamas’ deadly incursion on October 7. Israel seriously escalated its campaign against the Shiite militant group earlier this month, wounding thousands in a sabotage operation targeting the group’s handheld communication devices. This has been followed by a wave of airstrikes as part of the Israel Defense Forces’ ‘Operation Northern Arrows’. According to the Lebanese health authorities, Israel’s actions have claimed at least 1,300 lives.
During a press conference on Sunday, Mikati said that “Lebanon is experiencing the largest wave of displacement in its history,” as quoted by Türkiye’s Anadolu news agency. According to the official, Beirut’s “priority is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression through continued diplomatic efforts.”
Speaking to RT on Thursday, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad opined that the “main aim of these [Israeli] indiscriminate attacks is to spread an atmosphere of terror and to cause mass exodus.”
On Saturday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the IDF claimed that nearly all of Hezbollah’s senior military leaders had been “eliminated” in recent airstrikes.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military announced that it had killed the militant group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the Lebanese capital. Several hours later, the Shiite group confirmed his death, vowing to continue “its jihad in confronting the enemy.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged earlier this week to maintain large-scale military operations against Hezbollah despite a ceasefire proposal by the US and France.
Meanwhile, ABC News, citing an unnamed senior US official, reported on Saturday that the IDF was planning to enter southern Lebanon soon. The outlet claimed, however, that operation would be “very limited.”
On Wednesday, IDF chief of staff Lt. General Herzi Halevi told troops stationed at Israel’s northern border that airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past week were aimed at preparing the area “for the possibility of your entry.”
According to Halevi, Israel would continue its operation until it secures the safe return of its civilians displaced from their homes in the north of the country by Hezbollah shelling.