Israel steps up airstrikes in southern Lebanon amid growing fears | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

Israel’s defense minister says Hezbollah must ‘pay an increasing price’ as the group vows to retaliate for the attack.

Israel has stepped up attacks in southern Lebanon, launching a series of airstrikes amid fears of a wider escalation in the region.

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

Three unnamed Lebanese security sources told the Reuters news agency that it was one of the heaviest bombings since the war in Gaza began in October when Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah began exchanging cross-border gunfire.

Israel’s military said its air force hit nearly 100 rockets, as well as other infrastructure. It was not clear if there were any casualties.

At a briefing on Thursday, Israel’s defense minister said Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price” as Israel seeks to make conditions near its border with Lebanon safe enough for civilians fleeing border attacks to return.

“The sequence of our military actions will continue,” said Yoav Gallant.

In an earlier speech on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the pager and walkie-talkie attacks on its members in Lebanon and Syria this week crossed “all red lines” and the group would retaliate.

In recent weeks, Israeli leaders have stepped up warnings of a possible major military campaign against Hezbollah, saying they are willing to halt the group’s fire to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

In his first speech since the attack on the bell on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented” bombardment, which killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 in two days. Nasrallah said that Hezbollah will continue to work against Israel “until the violence in Gaza ends”.

Hamas said it “greatly appreciates” Hezbollah’s support and Nasrallah’s stance thwarted “Israel’s plans to undermine the support of our people and resistance in the Gaza Strip”.

Israel has not commented on the device explosion.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas would “decrease the temperature” in the region but also said the US was “unmoved” by any threats backed by Iran.

An initial investigation by the Lebanese authorities found that the weapons were loaded with explosives before arriving in the country, according to a letter written by the Lebanese mission to the United Nations seen by Reuters.

Authorities also discovered that devices, including pagers and hand-held radios, were bombed with electronic messages, according to a letter sent to the UN Security Council.

Hezbollah and Israel have been at loggerheads since the Israeli offensive on Gaza on October 7, which killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.

In late July, Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, and a few hours later, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, causing panic.