Israeli strike kills Hezbollah's top missile commander; toll hits 569

BEIRUT: Israel said it killed a top commander with Hezbollah's missile and rocket unit Tuesday as the Israeli military traded fire with Hezbollah again and the death toll from a massive Israeli bombing campaign climbed to nearly 570 people. Military officials said Ibrahim Kobeisi, who joined Hezbollah in the 1980s, was responsible for launches towards Israel and planned a 2000 attack in the Mount Dov region in which three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and killed.
He was killed in a strike on Beirut, the military said, adding that "other key commanders" were with Kobeisi at the time of the strike.But officials did not say whether any of the others were killed or wounded.
Israel struck the Hezbollah-controlled area of Beirut for a second consecutive day. Lebanon's health ministry said at least six people were killed and 15 wounded when a building in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood of Beirut was struck.
Traffic Jams At Syria Border
Thousands of people fled from southern Lebanon with the two sides on the brink of all-out war. Displaced families slept in shelters hastily set up in schools in Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon. Those who did not find shelter slept in their cars, in parks or along the seaside. The border crossing with Syria saw traffic jams as a result of Lebanese trying to escape to the neighbouring country.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched missiles overnight and in the morning at eight sites in Israel, including an explosives factory in Zichron Yaakov, 60km from the border. The Israeli military said Tuesday that 300 rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, injuring six civilians and soldiers.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah said it targeted a military base in north Israel near Safed twice with salvos of rockets. "In defence of Lebanon and its people", Hezbollah targeted "the Dado base" near north Israel's Safed - the headquarters of the Israeli military's northern command - with a total of 90 rockets, the Iran-backed group said in two separate statement.
'Hezbollah No More The Same'
Israeli military officials said Tuesday that they carried out "extensive strikes" on Hezbollah targets, including on a cell that fired rockets, and tanks and artillery struck targets near the border. Data from US fire-tracking satellites showed the wide range of Israeli strikes, covering an area of over 1,700sqkm. "Hezbollah today is not the same Hezbollah we knew a week ago. (It) has suffered a sequence of blows to its command and control,fighters, and the means to fight," Defence minister Yoav Gallant said, adding the strikes would continue.
The renewed exchange came after Monday's barrages racked up the highest death toll in any single day in Lebanon since Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Lebanon's health ministry said the strikes since Monday killed at least 569 people, including 50 children and 94 women, and wounded over 1,800 people - a staggering toll for a country still reeling from a attack on communication devices last week that claimed 39 lives.
'No Invasion Plan, But Ready'
The Israeli military says it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion but is prepared for one, after moving thousands of troops who had been serving in Gaza to the northern border. Israel is striving for the campaign against Hezbollah to be as short as possible but is prepared for it to take time, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters on Tuesday.