Fears of escalation as Israel hits Lebanon with most intense strikes of conflict

Israeli warplanes carried out their most intense strikes on southern Lebanon in nearly a year of war late last night.

The bombardment included more than 52 strikes, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA said.

The IDF said fighter jets struck 100 rocket launchers, vowing “military actions will continue” and Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price”.

Three Lebanese security sources said they were the heaviest aerial strikes since the conflict began in October after the Hamas attacks on Israel.

The US was “afraid and concerned about potential escalation” as the UK called for an immediate ceasefire.

The strikes came after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel had already crossed “all red lines” when pager and walkie-talkie explosions killed 37 and injured more than 3,000 people earlier this week.

He said the attacks “could be… a declaration of war.”

During his speech, Hezbollah struck at least four times in northern Israel, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in a strike earlier in the day.

Israel will face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami told Mr Nasrallah.

The axis of resistance is a term used to refer to groups backed or aligned with Iran, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant repeated last night that Israel was entering a “new phase of the war”.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to Israeli officials.

Army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah, though local media reported the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Source » sky.com