Hezbollah declares 'open-ended battle' with Israel as it fires over 150 rockets, Middle East on edge

Hezbollah's warning came after Israel inflicted serious blows on the group with targeted attacks on the group's communication devices and a devastating airstrike on Beirut that killed 45 people. The cycle of escalation between the enemies has raised fears of a full-out war in the Middle East.

Israel-Hezbollah War: The Lebanese armed militant group Hezbollah fired over 150 rockets across northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon, two days after Israel launched its deadliest strike on the country since an all-out war in 2006 that killed 45 on Friday.  A Hezbollah leader declared an “open-ended battle” was underway as both sides appeared to be spiralling closer toward all-out war.

The overnight rocket barrage was in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon that have killed dozens, including a veteran Hezbollah commander, and an unprecedented attack targeting the group's communications devices like pagers and walkie-talkies. Air raid sirens across northern Israel sent hundreds of thousands of people scrambling into shelters.

One struck near a residential building in Kiryat Bialik, a city near Haifa, wounding at least three people and setting buildings and cars ablaze. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said four people were wounded. On the other hand, Lebanon's Health Ministry said three people were killed and four wounded in Israeli strikes near the border.

Israeli strikes kill 45 in Lebanon

The rocket attacks followed an Israeli airstrike Friday in Beirut that killed at least 45 people, including senior Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil, top commander Ahmed Wahbi, several other fighters, and women and children. The Israeli army, in posts on X, said the strike hit an underground gathering of Aqil and senior commanders of Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces, and had "almost completely dismantled" Hezbollah's military chain of command.

The strikes are part of a new cycle of escalation between the enemies that has raised fears of a full-out war erupting in the Middle East, particularly after two separate attacks in Lebanon in which communication devices exploded simultaneously around the country, reportedly killing 39 people and injuring more than 3,400 others. Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade fire on Saturday.

Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem said Sunday's rocket attack was just the beginning of what's now an "open-ended battle” with Israel. “We admit that we are pained. We are humans. But as we are pained — you will also be pained,” Kassem said at Aqil's funeral. He vowed Hezbollah will continue military operations against Israel in support of Gaza but also warned of unexpected attacks “from outside the box,” pointing to rockets fired deeper into Israel.

Israel says operations in Lebanon will continue

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until it was safe for evacuated people on his side of the border to return - also setting the stage for a long conflict as Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to fight on until a ceasefire in the parallel Gaza war. Israel's Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement the military was well-prepared for the next stages of fighting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take whatever action was necessary to restore security in the north and allow people to return to their homes. "In recent days we have inflicted a series of blows on Hezbollah that it never imagined," he said. "If Hezbollah has not understood the message, I promise you, it will understand the message."

Israel has closed schools, restricted gatherings in the north and ordered hospitals there to move patients and staff to protected areas - many have secured or underground facilities designed to withstand rocket fire. About 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones were fired at Israel overnight and into Sunday, most of which were intercepted by air defences, the military said.

Several buildings were struck, including a house badly damaged near the city of Haifa. Rescue teams treated wounded but there were no reports of deaths. Residents had been instructed to stay near bomb shelters and safe rooms. Hezbollah said it hit a barracks and another Israeli position with squadrons of attack drones and also launched rockets at military-industrial facilities in an "initial response" to the device attacks last week.

(with inputs from agencies)

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