Israel intensifies air raids on southern Lebanon amid escalation fears

Israeli defence curate says Hezbollah to ‘pay an expanding price’ arsenic radical promises retaliation implicit instrumentality attacks.

Israel has intensified attacks connected confederate Lebanon, launching dozens of aerial raids amid fears of a wider escalation successful the region.

Israeli warplanes targeted the towns of Mahmoudieh, Ksar al-Aroush and Birket Jabbour successful the Jezzine country connected Thursday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Three unnamed Lebanese information sources told the quality bureau Reuters it was immoderate of the astir aggravated bombing since the commencement of the warfare successful Gaza successful October erstwhile Israel and the Iran-backed radical Hezbollah started trading cross-border fire.

Earlier, the Israeli subject said it had struck “approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers” and different infrastructure and artillery besides struck successful the country of Naqoura. It was not instantly wide if determination were immoderate casualties.

In a Thursday briefing, the Israeli defence curate said Hezbollah would “pay an expanding price” arsenic Israel seeks to marque conditions adjacent its borderline with Lebanon harmless capable for residents who person fled the cross-border attacks to return.

“The series of our subject actions volition continue,” Yoav Gallant said.

In a code earlier connected Thursday, Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah said the pager and walkie-talkie attacks against its members successful Lebanon and Syria this week crossed “all reddish lines” and the radical would retaliate.

In caller weeks, Israeli leaders person stepped up warnings of a imaginable larger subject cognition against Hezbollah, saying they are determined to halt the group’s occurrence to let tens of thousands of Israelis to instrumentality to homes adjacent the border.

In his archetypal speech since the instrumentality attacks connected Tuesday and Wednesday, Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented” stroke from the blasts, which killed 37 radical and wounded astir 3,000 implicit 2 days. Nasrallah said Hezbollah would proceed operations against Israel “until the aggression connected Gaza stops”.

Hamas said it “highly appreciates” Hezbollah’s enactment and Nasrallah’s stance frustrated Israel’s “plans to undermine the enactment beforehand of our radical and absorption successful the Gaza Strip”.

Israel has not commented connected the device explosions.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas would “lower the temperature” successful the portion but besides said the US was “unwavering” against immoderate Iran-backed threats.

A preliminary probe by the Lebanese authorities recovered the devices were implanted with explosives earlier arriving successful the country, according to a missive by the Lebanese ngo to the United Nations that was seen by Reuters.

The authorities besides determined the devices, which included pagers and handheld radios, were detonated via physics messages, according to the missive sent to the UN Security Council.

Hezbollah and Israel person been engaged successful a mostly low-level struggle since Israel launched an battle connected Gaza connected October 7, which has killed much than 41,000 Palestinians.

In precocious July, Israel killed Hezbollah commandant Fuad Shukr successful Beirut, and hours later, Hamas governmental person Ismail Haniyeh was killed successful Tehran, triggering fears of an escalation.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies