Israel launches new strikes as Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets

There are reports of damage to homes in Israel, and of Hezbollah rockets landing much further into Israel than before, close to the port city of Haifa. Hezbollah said it had attacked military targets.

The Israeli military warned that its strikes against Hezbollah "will continue and will intensify".

The latest escalation follows last week's attacks on Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies - and on Friday, Israel said its air strike in Beirut killed a dozen senior Hezbollah commanders. Lebanon said 45 people, including three children, were killed.

Early on Sunday, sirens sounded over large parts of northern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said more than 100 rockets had been fired across the border overnight.

It subsequently said that another 85 were launched later in the morning.

Video posted online, so far unverified by the BBC, appears to show a fire in a residential area near Haifa.

On Saturday, dozens of Israeli fighter jets started "extensively" striking southern Lebanon "following detection of Hezbollah preparing to fire toward Israeli territory", IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said.

Before the evening Israeli strikes began, the IDF said earlier it had destroyed "about 180 sites and thousands of [rocket] launcher barrels" with strikes.

There are no more details about Israel's strikes on Sunday yet.

Earlier this week, 39 people were killed and thousands wounded after pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, the politically-influential Iran-backed organisation, exploded on two days across Lebanon.

On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the attacks, saying it had crossed "all red lines" and vowed "just punishment".

Israel has not claimed responsibility.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the pager and walkie-talkie explosions violated international humanitarian law.

Restrictions in northern Israel

Also on Sunday morning, the IDF announced an expansion of restrictions on communities in northern Israel and parts of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that had come into effect at 20:30 local time (17:30 GMT) the night before.

The IDF's Home Front Command limited gatherings to 10 people in an open area and 100 participants in a closed space. Educational activities can continue and people can go to work as long as there are protected spaces available.

The restrictions apply to the Haifa area and northward.

As fears increase that the conflict may break out into a full-scale war, the US state department issued new travel advice for citizens currently in Lebanon.

The US embassy in Beirut has urged people to "depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available".

The embassy added it "may not be able to assist US citizens who choose to remain".

Neighbouring Jordan's foreign ministry issued similar advice to its citizens, urging those in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible.

Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on 8 October 2023 - the day after the attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from Gaza - when Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions.

Israel recently added the return of people displaced from the north of the country due to the cross-border fighting to its list of war goals.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israel was entering a "new phase of the war" concentrating more of its efforts in the north.

-BBC