At least 492 were killed, while 1,500 others were wounded, the Health Ministry said, during a day of relentless Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Thirty-five children were among the victims.

At least 58 females and two paramedics were among the victims of Monday’s bombardments, which targeted houses, medical facilities, ambulances, and cars as people tried to flee, the ministry said. Thousands of Lebanese had fled the South, and Al Jazeera, a news outlet, reported the principal exit road from Sidona to Beirut was packed with cars.

The government shut down schools and universities across much of the country and began preparing shelters for those fleeing the South. The Israeli military has said it delivered some 1,600 air strikes on Lebanon and named the offensive Operation Northern Arrows.

Southern Beirut was bombed to neutralize Ali Karaki, the head of Hezbollah’s southern command, in the parking of his building. Hezbollah said later in the day that Karaki is alive and had gone “into hiding.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there would be difficult days and that he aimed to change the equilibrium. Hezbollah from Lebanon struck back with a salvo of missiles at Israeli airfields.

Hezbollah recently claimed it had launched several missile attacks against the Israeli positions within the last few hours, including the Megiddo Airfield located on the fringes of the West African town of Afula, besides the Ramat David Airbase based in the northern harbor city of Haifa.