Israel military striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
· RTE.ieThe Israeli military has said that it is carrying out fresh strikes against positions of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
A spokesperson said the action began after it identified that the group was preparing to attack Israel.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military had issued a message to residents of south Lebanon to keep their distance from Hezbollah posts.
Asked by reporters about a possible Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon, he said: "We will do whatever is needed" in order to return residents of northern Israel - who were moved from their homes - to return safely.
The attacks come amid some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire in nearly a year of conflict.
Israeli warplanes carried out an intense wave of air strikes on towns along Lebanon's southern border and even further north, according to witnesses.
Reporters in the southern port city of Tyre could hear warplanes flying low over southern Lebanon and hear a series of air strikes nearby.
Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported Israeli airstrikes targeting the outskirts of many towns and villages in the south and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
Footage showed columns of smoke rising over the south.
Hezbollah and Israel exchanged heavy fire into yesterday, as the Lebanese militant group sent rockets deep into northern Israeli territory after facing intense bombardment.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told mourners at the funeral of one of the group's commanders, who was killed last week in Beirut, that "we have entered a new phase, the title of which is the open-ended battle of reckoning".
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said operations would continue until it was safe for people on his side of the border to return home - 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.
The conflict - which has escalated sharply in the past week - has raged since Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel, saying it was acting in support of Palestinians facing an Israeli offensive further south in Gaza.
Last week, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded.
The attack was widely blamed on Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.