Israel is firing strikes into Lebanon as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.
Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked "1,600 terrorist targets of Hezbollah" in parts of southern Lebanon in "several attack waves," on Monday, the IDF said in a post on X.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Sep 23, 2024, 7:14 PM EDT
US Embassy in Jerusalem issues travel restriction for government employees
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert "temporarily" restricting travel for U.S. government employees and their family members to parts of northern and northeastern Israel.
"U.S. government employees and their family members have been temporarily restricted from any personal travel north of highway 65 toward Afula and north/northeast of highway 71 from Afula to the Jordanian border. Any official travel in this area will require approval. Approved travel will take place only in armored vehicles. This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans," the U.S. Embassy alert said.
Afula is a city in northern Israel.
"US citizens should take this into consideration when planning their own activities," the alert read.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Sep 23, 2024, 4:53 PM EDT
At least 492 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
At least 492 people were killed and over 1,600 injured in Lebanon early Monday as the Israeli military expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among the deceased were 35 children and 58 women, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck at least 800 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they were changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”
"For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel's policy -- we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time," Netanyahu said. "We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles -- and our hands are bent."
"Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more," he added.