'Get out of the way' Netanyahu warns Lebanon amid deadliest strikes since 2006
ITV News' International Editor reports from Lebanon, where an Israeli barrage has left hundreds dead
More than 490 people were killed and 1,600 injured in Lebanon on Monday after a barrage of Israeli strikes led to the deadliest day since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
The figures, from Lebanon's health ministry, also confirmed more than 90 women and children were killed.
Cars were seen stuck in traffic in Lebanon's southern villages as people attempted to flee Monday's bombardment.
In a recorded video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned civilians in Lebanon to "get out of harm's way".
He said: “I have a message for the people of Lebanon, Israel’s war is not with you, it's with Hezbollah."
“Don’t let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon. Please get out of harm’s way now,” he said, explaining that they can return home “once our operation has finished”.
Israel's military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the army will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah from Lebanon’s border with Israel.
He said Israeli warplanes struck 1,300 Hezbollah targets Monday, destroying cruise missiles, long and short-range rockets and attack drones.
Netanyahu tells Lebanon "Israel's war is not with you, it's with Hezbollah" as he addressed the country in a televised speech
Earlier, the Israeli military called for people in Lebanon to "immediately" evacuate homes and other buildings where Hezbollah stores weapons following a heavy exchange of fire over the weekend.
Some strikes hit residential areas of towns in the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley. One strike hit a wooded area as far away as Byblos in central Lebanon, more than 80 miles from the border north of Beirut.
Thousands of Lebanese people fled the south, causing the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon to become jammed with cars, all heading towards Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired dozens of rockets at an Israeli military post in Galilee. It also targeted for a second day the facilities of the Rafael defence firm, headquartered in Haifa.
Monday's strikes came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday when Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters.
Most were intercepted but some did land causing damage and some minor injuries. Hezbollah claims to have hit a military site, which Israel denied.
An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen Hezbollah members, along with dozens of civilians including women and children.
Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including five children, in strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, Palestinian medical officials have said.
The attacks come as world leaders meet in New York to discuss global issues, including tensions in the Middle East.
Israeli Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says there will be "extensive precise strikes against terror targets" as they tell people in Lebanon to leave buildings used by Hezbollah "for their own safety"
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the 193-member world organisation that it was time to end “wars tearing our world apart” from the Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan.
Last week, thousands of communications devices including pagers and walkie-talkies, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000.
Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…