Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified overnight, with both sides carrying out large cross-border strikes.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, in what it said was retaliation for recent attacks targeting it.
There are reports of rockets landing much further into Israel than in previous launches, and of damage to homes and injuries.
Israel carried out air strikes on targets in southern Lebanon and said it had destroyed thousands of Hezbollah’s rocket launchers.
The UN has warned the region is “on the brink of imminent catastrophe” as fears of an all out war grow.
The attacks from Hezbollah come after major blows for the group, including an Israeli strike in Beirut that decimated the chain of command of its elite fighting unit.
Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel, as rockets flew deeper into the country’s territory.
Hezbollah said one of its targets was an Israeli military production facility in the city of Haifa, and that this was an initial retaliation for the explosions targeting the group’s communication devices.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
In response, the Israeli army said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and that its attacks would continue and intensify.
This comes amid growing speculation that Israel is preparing a wider offensive against the Iranian-backed group.
A barrage of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon overnight, landing much deeper into Israel than in previous attacks.
Hezbollah says it targeted industrial and military sites, and dozens of homes were reportedly damaged.
The IDF says most of the rockets were intercepted by air defence systems.
Footage appeared to show a fire in a residential area near Haifa in northern Israel after it was hit by a rocket. There have not been any reports of fatalities.
Early on Sunday, Israel closed schools and restricted gatherings in many northern areas of the country and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Meanwhile, Israel said it struck scores of Hezbollah targets on September 21, including thousands of rocket launcher barrels.
