JERUSALEM/BEIRUT - Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said on Monday the army has "launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah," warning the operation would last "many days" as the conflict escalates sharply along the country's northern border.
"We must prepare for many days of combat ahead," Zamir said during a situational assessment at the military's headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"This requires strong defensive readiness and sustained offensive readiness, operating in continuous waves while constantly utilizing opportunities," he said.
The announcement came after Hezbollah joined the conflict by launching missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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No injuries or damage were reported, but the incident marked the first such attack since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that formally ended the conflict with Hezbollah, Israel's public broadcaster reported.
The move came two days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The Israeli military has mobilized 100,000 reservists to prepare for what it described as a "multi-arena" conflict.
Israel began striking Beirut and other areas in Lebanon overnight, killing at least 31 people and injuring 149 others, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
Israeli warplanes carried out intensive airstrikes at Monday dawn in Beirut's southern suburbs, hours after rockets were fired from Lebanese territory toward Israel, local television channel al-Jadeed reported.
The Israeli strikes targeted Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, prompting residents to flee their homes amid fears of further escalation, according to the report. Ambulances rushed to the affected areas to evacuate casualties.
Lebanon's Hezbollah group said in a statement that it had launched rockets and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the Saturday killing of Khamenei in joint Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
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"In retaliation for the pure blood of the Guardian of the Muslims ... which was unjustly and treacherously shed by the criminal Zionist enemy, and in defense of Lebanon and its people ... the Islamic Resistance (in Lebanon) targeted, shortly after midnight between Sunday and Monday, March 2, 2026, the Mishmar HaCarmel missile defense site south of the occupied city of Haifa with a salvo of advanced rockets and a swarm of drones," the group said.
The Hezbollah attack with rockets and drones triggered air raid sirens in Haifa, the Upper Galilee, and the Golan Heights. The Israeli military said some projectiles were intercepted while others fell in open areas.
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said there were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, though several people sustained minor injuries while running to shelters.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the rocket attack and warned against dragging the country into further conflict.
"We will not allow the country to be dragged into new adventures, and we will take the necessary measures to apprehend those responsible and protect the Lebanese people," Salam said.
"Regardless of the party behind it, the rocket launch from southern Lebanon is a reckless and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon's security and safety and gives Israel pretexts to continue its attacks," he added.
