TEL AVIV/BEIRUT: The world is in fear of war as Israel warns it is ready for a complete invasion of Lebanon. The US, which announced it would send more troops to the Middle East, instructed its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately. There are 40,000 US troops and warships in the region.
The death toll in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon since Monday has risen to 558. Among the dead are 50 children and 94 women. Hundreds of Hezbollah bases and their cruise missiles were destroyed. The roads came to a standstill as thousands of people started fleeing en masse.
Monday was the day Lebanon's highest number of people were killed since the end of the civil war in 1990. Even today, Israel and Hezbollah created terror against each other through air strikes. Israel carried out "targeted strikes" by searching for senior commanders, including the head of Hezbollah's missile unit. Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Nader was also killed in southern Lebanon.
Schools in northern Israel have closed. International airlines have cancelled their services. Meanwhile, Iran has made it clear that it will not leave ally Hezbollah stand alone. Countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Greece have called for an end to the conflict.
Four ways for Israel
18 years
Israel attacks Hezbollah's arsenals using intelligence inputs collected for 18 years
Weaponized barcode?
Hezbollah says Israeli warplanes are scattering leaflets containing "dangerous" barcodes in the Beqaa Valley, east of Beirut. It also warned that scanning the code would lead to losing all the information on the phone.
Enemies unite
These groups are going to unite against Israel if there is an open war
Manpower
Israeli army - 6,70,000
Hezbollah fighters - 25,000 - 50,000 (claimed to have 100,000)
1,50,000 rockets
Hezbollah is believed to have between 1,50,000 and 2,00,000 rockets/missiles. Capable of reaching every corner of Israel