
Israel鈥檚 army chief told soldiers on Wednesday to prepare for a possible ground offensive to fight Hezbollah in Lebanon as the air force conducted hundreds of deadly strikes around the country.
鈥榃e are attacking all day, both to prepare the ground for the possibility of your entry, but also to continue striking Hezbollah,鈥� Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told a tank brigade, according to a statement from the military.
Lebanon鈥檚 health minister said Wednesday鈥檚 strikes killed 51 people and injured 223, including in mountainous areas outside Hezbollah鈥檚 traditional strongholds.
Hezbollah said it had targeted Israel鈥檚 Mossad spy agency on Tel Aviv鈥檚 outskirts in the morning 鈥� the first time it has fired a ballistic missile in almost a year of cross-border clashes sparked by the Gaza war.
In response, Israel said it hit 60 Hezbollah intelligence sites, among hundreds of the group鈥檚 targets struck across Lebanon.
It came amid escalating cross-border clashes, after Israeli raids on Monday killed at least 558 people in the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon鈥檚 1975-90 civil war.
Nour Hamad, a 22-year-old student in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, described living 鈥榠n a state of terror鈥� all week.
鈥榃e spent four or five days without sleep, not knowing if we will wake up in the morning,鈥� she said.
In Tel Aviv, sirens sounded following Hezbollah鈥檚 unprecedented missile launch.
Tel Aviv resident Hedva Fadlon, 61, said: 鈥楾he situation is difficult. We feel the pressure and the tension I don鈥檛 think anyone in the world would like to live like this.鈥�
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Hezbollah鈥檚 attack on Tel Aviv was 鈥榙eeply concerning鈥� but added there was 鈥榮till time and space for a diplomatic solution here to de-escalate the tensions and to prevent an all-out war鈥�.
The Israeli military said 鈥榦ver 280 Hezbollah鈥� targets had been struck across Lebanon on Wednesday, adding the strikes were on-going.
鈥楩ighter jets struck 60 terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah鈥檚 intelligence directorate,鈥� the army said.
It also said two reserve brigades were being called up 鈥榝or operational missions in the northern arena鈥�, adding this would 鈥榚nable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation鈥�.
The United Nations Security Council said it would hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in New York on Wednesday, while UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned the situation was critical.
The UN鈥檚 International Organisation for Migration on Wednesday said 90,000 people had been displaced in Lebanon since Monday.
Among them, 鈥榤any of the more than 1,11,000 people displaced since October are likely to have been secondarily displaced鈥�, a statement from the UN鈥檚 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added.
It came after two days of what the Israeli military called 鈥榚xtensive鈥� strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
The Lebanese group on Tuesday confirmed an Israeli claim that it had killed their rocket forces commander Ibrahim Kobeissi in a strike on the Lebanese capital.
At the UN General Assembly in New York, secretary-general Guterres issued a stark warning.
鈥榃e should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,鈥� he said, while cautioning against 鈥榯he possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza鈥�.
US president Joe Biden, whose government is Israel鈥檚 main backer, said 鈥榝ull-scale war is not in anyone鈥檚 interest鈥�.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his departure for New York until Thursday, where he too is due to speak at the General Assembly.
鈥楧uring the day, the prime minister will hold consultations to discuss the continuation of the attacks in Lebanon,鈥� his office said.
Netanyahu defied international calls for restraint, vowing on Tuesday to keep up Israel鈥檚 campaign against Hezbollah.
鈥榃e will continue to hit Hezbollah the one who has a missile in his living room and a rocket in his home will not have a home,鈥� he said.
Iran, Hezbollah鈥檚 main backer, condemned Israel鈥檚 raids, with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying the recent killing of Hezbollah commanders would not crush the group.
鈥楽ome of the effective and valuable forces of Hezbollah were martyred, which undoubtedly caused damage to Hezbollah, but this was not the sort of damage that could bring the group to its knees,鈥� he said.
While the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily clashes for a year, the violence escalated dramatically last week, when coordinated communications device blasts that Hezbollah blamed on Israel killed 39 people and wounded almost 3,000.
Then Israel carried out an air strike on Hezbollah鈥檚 south Beirut stronghold, killing a top military commander and other fighters and civilians.
Efforts to end the war in Gaza, which analysts say are key to stopping the escalation in Lebanon, remain stalled.
Netanyahu has been accused by critics of stalling in Gaza ceasefire negotiations and prolonging the war to appease far-right coalition partners.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Of the 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,495 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory鈥檚 health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.