dpa
Beirut
Heavy Israeli strikes and shelling struck the Lebanese port city of Tyre on Monday as heavy fighting continued between Israeli troops and Hezbollah deep inside southern Lebanon.
Videos circulating on social media showed heavy calibre shells exploding and large plumes of black smoke covering Tyre. Shortly beforehand, the Israeli army issued a warning to people living in the area to move to safe locations.
"It is hell. We do not know where to hide as Israeli shells are falling everywhere,” a resident of Tyre who is still living in the city told DPA. Israeli soldiers meanwhile continued their ground operation in southern Lebanon, combing the border area around Kafr Kila, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported. Israel’s army also attacked the area with artillery, tanks and fighter planes, the agency said.
The Lebanese Health Ministry has counted more than 2,600 dead and 12,400 injured in Lebanon since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated a year ago.
The Israeli government’s weekly Cabinet meeting was reportedly relocated to an undisclosed location for security reasons on Monday. Typically, the ministers meet in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or at the headquarters of the armed forces.