In response, Israel's military targeted Hezbollah “military structures” and other sites in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported one fatality from an Israeli drone strike in the town of Houla.

This latest assault, following a barrage of 100 rockets on Wednesday afternoon, marks one of the most significant escalations in the nine months of cross-border violence, raising concerns of a full-scale war. The conflict intensified after the Israeli air strike near Tyre that killed Mohammed Nimah Nasser, a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.

The Israeli military accused Nasser, who commanded Hezbollah’s Aziz Unit responsible for rocket launches from southwestern Lebanon, of orchestrating numerous terror attacks. He was described as “the counterpart” of Taleb Sami Abdullah, another unit commander whose death last month led Hezbollah to fire over 200 rockets into northern Israel in a single day.

A senior Hezbollah official vowed to "target new sites" in Israel in response to Nasser's killing. The ongoing hostilities, which began the day after the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on October 7, have resulted in almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah claims its actions are in support of the Palestinian group Hamas, both of which are backed by Iran and designated as terrorist organizations by Israel, the UK, and other countries.

So far, more than 400 people have been reported killed in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, and 25 people in Israel, primarily soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to restore security in northern Israel, stating, "In the tough campaign against Lebanon we have set a principle - whoever harms us is a dead man. We are making that a reality in practice."

The conflict has displaced tens of thousands of people from border communities in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon.