Israeli airborne raid kills 41 in eastern Lebanon as cross-border conflict escalates
Troops withdraw after ground incursion near Nabi Chit; three Lebanese soldiers among dead as toll surpasses 290
BEIRUT— At least 41 people were killed and 40 others wounded in an Israeli airborne operation and accompanying airstrikes in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek district, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday, as cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah entered their second week .
The overnight raid near the town of Nabi Chit involved Israeli helicopters dropping troops into Lebanese territory, triggering fierce clashes with residents and Hezbollah fighters, according to Lebanese state media and local residents . The Israeli force withdrew by helicopter after several hours as Israeli warplanes conducted approximately 40 airstrikes in the area to cover their extraction .
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The Lebanese army confirmed that three of its soldiers were among those killed in the exchange of fire. It said four Israeli helicopters took part in the operation, with two conducting the landing .
According to Israeli officials cited by The Associated Press, the operation was aimed at gathering information about Israeli navigator Ron Arad, who went missing after his fighter jet crashed in Lebanon nearly 40 years ago. The Israeli military later said Arad’s remains were not found .
Rising death toll and displacement
The deaths in Nabi Chit bring the overall toll from Israeli attacks across Lebanon since Monday to at least 294, with more than 1,023 people wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry . The ministry earlier reported that Israeli strikes on Friday alone had killed nine people in the Baalbek district .
The intensifying conflict has displaced approximately 300,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities, with only about a third currently housed in government shelters . The International Organization for Migration reported dramatic scenes Thursday evening as the Israeli military carried out “multiple air strikes on the southern suburb of Beirut,” prompting mass evacuations .
Mathieu Luciano, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Lebanon, said many shelters in Beirut and Mount Lebanon are already at full capacity, forcing displaced families to relocate to facilities in the north and the Bekaa Valley .
Fatima al-Masri, a resident who fled Beirut’s southern suburbs and has been sheltering in Martyrs’ Square for four days, described dire conditions. “We want to eat and drink… we want to go to the bathroom,” she told AFP, adding that she came to the square “because the schools are full” .
Israeli evacuation orders expand
The Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings Saturday for residents in parts of southern Lebanon, including areas of the coastal city of Tyre, according to AFP. The military said it would target “military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation” in the Zuqaq al-Mafdi area and urged residents south of the Litani River to move north immediately .
“Strikes are ongoing as the army is operating with great force in the area,” the Israeli military said, adding that civilians should leave for their safety .
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, earlier this week expressed “serious concern” about Israeli evacuation orders affecting civilians in its area of operations. In a statement, UNIFIL noted that Israeli military movements and airstrikes violate both UN Resolution 1701 and “Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” .
Hezbollah responds with rocket fire
Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched attacks on northern Israel, warning residents in parts of the country to evacuate. In a message posted in Hebrew on its Telegram channels, the group told Israelis to leave all localities “located within 5 kilometres of the border” .
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The Israeli military reported that Hezbollah had fired around 70 rockets toward Israel since midnight, and that the Lebanese group had launched coordinated attacks with Iran on Thursday . Hezbollah also claimed to have targeted an Israeli naval base in Haifa and a cluster of Israeli vehicles advancing toward the border town of Khiam, saying it “forced them to retreat” .
The cross-border escalation began Monday when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes . The group’s secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said in a speech Wednesday that the missile salvo was a response to fifteen months of Israeli violations of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement .
Qassem noted that repeated Israeli attacks had not been responded to previously “in order to avoid accusing the party of obstructing diplomacy,” but stressed that “patience has limits” .
UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned Thursday that the Middle East war is “spreading like wildfire” with major repercussions across the world. “I urge the States involved to take immediate steps to de-escalate – to give peace a chance,” Türk said in Geneva. “Cool heads must prevail if we are to prevent further terror and devastation for civilians” .
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has declared the escalating crisis a major humanitarian emergency, noting significant displacement across the region and into southwest Asia .
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, speaking to foreign ambassadors Friday, said “the consequences of this displacement, at the humanitarian and political level, may well be unprecedented.” He added: “Our country has been drawn into a devastating war that we did not seek and did not choose” .
The Ghanaian military reported Friday that two of its UN peacekeepers were “critically injured” and one was “traumatised” when their headquarters in southern Lebanon was hit by two missiles, without specifying the source . Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack as a “direct assault on UNIFIL” .
Background and context
Monday’s escalation followed an Israeli-US offensive on Iran that began Feb. 28, which has killed more than 900 people, including Supreme Leader Khamenei and top military officials . Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries hosting US assets.
The current hostilities represent a dramatic expansion of the conflict that began Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started firing into Israel a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. That conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, with Israel launching a ground invasion of Lebanon.
A US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024 halted most fighting, but Israel continued near-daily strikes on Lebanon, saying Hezbollah was trying to rebuild its forces near the border. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that 397 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon between the ceasefire and Hezbollah’s latest attacks .
Israel has repeatedly violated the November 2024 agreement, carrying out strikes that have left hundreds dead and wounded since it took effect, according to Lebanese officials . The Israeli military said Friday it had carried out 26 waves of strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the past four days alone .
Latest developments
The Israeli military said Saturday it had conducted airborne raids in multiple locations along the border and continued striking Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah, meanwhile, announced new attacks on Israeli positions and warned of further escalation.
Lebanon’s Council of Ministers was scheduled to hold an emergency session to discuss the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation, according to government officials.
The UN Security Council was expected to convene an emergency meeting on the crisis, diplomatic sources said, as international calls for de-escalation intensified.
Saturday’s deadly airborne raid marks a significant escalation in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, demonstrating its willingness to conduct complex ground operations deep inside Lebanese territory. With more than 290 dead, over 1,000 wounded, and 300,000 displaced in less than a week, Lebanon faces a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions.
The conflict, triggered by Hezbollah’s response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, has drawn in multiple actors and threatens to spiral further. International appeals for restraint have so far gone unheeded as both sides signal readiness for prolonged confrontation.
For Lebanese civilians caught in the crossfire, the immediate future holds only uncertainty, displacement, and fear. As Prime Minister Salam warned, the consequences of this war may well prove “unprecedented” for a country already battered by years of economic collapse and political paralysis.
With inputs from
1 BSS/AFP: Israel intensifies strikes on Lebanon with major raids on east
2 Associated Press via Mid-day: At least 41 killed, 40 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon
3 UN News: UN rights chief urges de-escalation as Middle East war spreads
4 BERNAMA-Anadolu: Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises to 123
5 Reuters via The Hindu: At least 40 killed in Israeli airborne raid in Lebanon
6 L’Orient Today: At least 26 killed and 35 wounded in Israeli strikes on Nabi Sheet, Bekaa
7 Anadolu Ajansı: UN peacekeepers in Lebanon express ‘serious concern’ about Israeli army’s evacuation order
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