Israel intensifies air raids on southern Lebanon amid escalation fears

Israeli defence minister says Hezbollah to ‘pay an increasing price’ as group promises retaliation over device attacks.

Israel has intensified attacks on southern Lebanon, launching dozens of air raids 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 area on Thursday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Three unnamed Lebanese security sources told the news agency Reuters it was some of the most intense bombing since the start of the war in Gaza in October when Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah started trading cross-border fire.

The Israeli military said its air force struck approximately 100 rocket-launchers, as well as other infrastructure. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

In a Thursday briefing, the Israeli defence minister said Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price” as Israel seeks to make conditions near its border with Lebanon safe enough for residents who have fled the cross-border attacks to return.

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

In a speech earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the pager and walkie-talkie attacks against 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 potential larger military operation against Hezbollah, saying they are determined to stop the group’s fire to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

In his first speech since the device attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented” blow from the blasts, which killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 over two days. Nasrallah said Hezbollah would continue operations against Israel “until the aggression on Gaza stops”.

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

Israel has not commented on the device explosions.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would “lower the temperature” in the region but also said the US was “unwavering” against any Iran-backed threats.

A preliminary investigation by the Lebanese authorities found the devices were implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, according to a letter by the Lebanese mission to the United Nations that was seen by Reuters.

The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and handheld radios, were detonated via electronic messages, according to the letter sent to the UN Security Council.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a mostly low-level conflict since Israel launched an assault on Gaza on October 7, which has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.

In late July, Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, and hours later, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, triggering fears of an escalation.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies