Israel, Hezbollah trade fire as thousands flee south Lebanon

Beirut [Lebanon], September 25: Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire a day after the Israeli military launched a wave of air strikes into Lebanon that have killed at least 558 people so far, fanning fears of an all-out war.
Lebanon's health ministry reported that at least six people were killed and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike on the southern Beirut suburb of Ghobeiri on Tuesday.
The Israeli military, which reportedly hit a five-storey building in the usually busy neighbourhood, announced the targeted strike - the second in the area in as many days - and said it was targeting a Hezbollah commander, without giving a name.
Hezbollah said on Tuesday that it launched a barrage of rockets at Israeli air bases, including the Megiddo airfield near northern Afula, and at an explosives factory about 60km (37 miles) into Israel.
More than 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, and the majority "were intercepted". No casualties were reported.
The Israeli military also said that it targeted "dozens of Hezbollah targets in several areas in southern Lebanon" overnight. The new strikes came after Israel said it launched more than 1,600 projectiles into Lebanon on Monday, first hitting areas in the south of the country and then expanding its bombardment to the Bekaa Valley in the east and the capital Beirut, in what is the largest flareup of violence since their last war in 2006.
Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said on Tuesday that the air attacks since Monday have killed 50 children and 94 women, and wounded at least 1,835 others. The strikes have drawn global condemnation and calls for de-escalation as world leaders meet in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes on Monday and overnight "and the numbers continue to grow", UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, adding that "the toll on civilians is unacceptable".
As people escaped the south of the country towards Beirut, highways were gridlocked through the night.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's civil defence tackled 176 fires caused by the Israeli strikes. It said it responded to blazes in agricultural land in Harf Miziara and Qartaba and in a landfill in Mashha, among others.
More than 30 international flights to and from Beirut were cancelled, according to the Rafic Hariri international airport's website.
The near-daily, cross-border fighting between the Israeli military and the Lebanese armed group since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October has displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides.
Source: Qatar Tribune