Israel strikes Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket fire as Iran conflict widens

BBC:

Israel’s military has said it has struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after the Iranian-backed Shia group said it launched rockets and drones at the Israeli city of Haifa to avenge the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Lebanon’s disaster management unit said 52 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the country on Monday.

There were no reports of casualties in Israel from Hezbollah’s fire, which the group said was retaliation for Khamenei’s “pure blood” and Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire ended a war between them 15 months ago.

The Israeli defence minister vowed Hezbollah would pay a “heavy price”.

Israel Katz said he had ordered the Israeli military to “act forcefully” against the militia and political party, and that its leader Naim Qassem was now a “marked target for elimination”.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, condemned Hezbollah’s actions as “irresponsible” and said his government was immediately banning the group’s military activities.

It had been widely expected that Hezbollah, which has close financial and ideological ties to Iran, would join the conflict between Iran, Israel and the US.

The conflict has spread quickly across the Middle East since the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran’s leadership and armed forces on Saturday, with Iran responding by launching missiles and drones towards Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases.