Israeli warplanes launched their heaviest air strikes on southern Lebanon late Thursday in the nearly one-year Gaza war, escalating the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah amid calls for restraint.

The White House said a diplomatic solution was possible and urgent, and Britain called on Israel and Hezbollah to immediately cease fire. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing that the United States was "horrified and concerned about the potential escalation."

Earlier this week, Lebanon and Hezbollah attributed the attack to Israel, with pager and walkie-talkie explosions that killed 37 people and injured about 3,000 in Lebanon.

In an operation late Thursday, the Israeli military said its warplanes struck hundreds of multiple rocket launchers in southern Lebanon over more than two hours that were ready to fire at Israel. Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said more than 52 bombardments were carried out in southern Lebanon after 9 p.m. local time. Three Lebanese security sources said it was the heaviest airstrike and "the most intensive bombardment" since the conflict began in October last year. No casualties were reported.

The Israeli military has vowed to continue its attacks on Hezbollah, saying it hit about 100 rocket launchers and other targets in southern Lebanon throughout Thursday's strikes. The IDF said a new major operation had begun. In fact, the feared larger war in Lebanon seems to have arrived. "The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah's terrorist capabilities and infrastructure," the report said.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Thursday that the explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday "crossed all red lines." He said the "enemy went beyond all control, law and morality," adding that the attacks "can be considered a war crime or a declaration of war."

Israel has not commented directly on the pager and walkie-talkie explosions, which security sources said were likely the work of Israel's Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil.

Lebanon's UN mission said in a letter to the Security Council on Thursday that Israel was responsible for detonating the devices and had planted explosives in them before they arrived in Lebanon, consistent with theories circulating after the blast. The 15-member Security Council will meet on Friday on the blast. Lebanon's representative called on the Council to take a firm stand and stop Israel's "aggression" and "technological warfare."

Israel vows Hezbollah will pay 'increasing price'

As Nasrallah’s broadcast went off, deafening sonic booms from Israeli warplanes rocked Beirut, a sound that has become familiar in recent months but has taken on greater significance as the threat of all-out war grows.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said late Thursday that Israel will continue its military operations against Hezbollah. "In this new phase of the war, there are both significant opportunities and significant risks. Hezbollah feels persecuted and a series of military operations will continue," Galant said in a statement. "Our goal is to ensure the safe return of northern Israeli communities. Over time, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price."

Nasrallah said Hezbollah wanted Israeli troops to enter southern Lebanon because it would create a "historic opportunity" for the Iran-backed group, adding that no military escalation, killings, assassinations or all-out war would bring Israeli residents back to the border area.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami told Nasrallah on Thursday that Israel would face a "heavy blow from the axis of resistance," according to Iranian state media, referring to the alliance of militant groups allied with Iran, including Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthi rebels, Hamas and armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Paris, urged restraint on all sides, adding that he did not want to see escalatory actions by either side that would make a ceasefire in Gaza more difficult.

Israel says its conflict with Hezbollah, like its war with Hamas in Gaza, is part of a wider regional confrontation with Iran, while Nasrallah has stressed that Hezbollah will not stop its actions against Israel "under any circumstances" as long as the Gaza operation continues.

Regional analyst Aron Lund said that in his first speech after the explosion, Nasrallah repeated with all his might that Hezbollah would not stop striking Israel under any circumstances until a ceasefire was achieved in Gaza. If Israel hopes to force a deal on its own terms, this does not seem to be working.

Article forwarded from: Jinshi Data