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Israel and Hezbollah launch new attacks after lethal day in Lebanon

Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Iranbacked group assaulted military centers in northern Israel on Tuesday, increasing worries of a fullblown conflict after Lebanon suffered its most dangerous day in decades.

Israel's military said it hit lots of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after performing airstrikes versus the armed group which Lebanese authorities stated eliminated nearly 500 people and sent out tens of thousands running away for safety.

Hezbollah said it targeted numerous Israeli military targets overnight including a dynamites factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, which it assaulted with Fadi rockets around 4 a.m. (0100. GMT). It stated it also attacked the Megiddo airfield near the. northern Israeli town of Afula 3 separate times overnight.

After nearly a year of war against Hamas in Gaza on its. southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to the northern. frontier, where Hezbollah has actually been shooting rockets into Israel in. support of Hamas, which is likewise backed by Iran.

Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati's office said. he would fly to New York, where the United Nations General. Assembly is taking place, for more contacts following the. intensified wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday.

The battling has actually raised worries that the U.S., Israel's close. ally and local power Iran, which has proxies throughout the. Middle East-- Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in. Iraq-- will be sucked into a larger war.

The strikes have actually stacked pressure on Hezbollah, which last. week suffered heavy losses when thousands of pagers and. walkie-talkies utilized by its members blew up in the worst. security breach in its history.

The operation was extensively attributed to Israel, which has not. verified or denied duty.

Israel's intelligence and technological expertise has offered it. a strong edge in both Lebanon and Gaza. It has find and. assassinated top Hezbollah commanders and Hamas leaders.

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven major. democracies stated the Middle East ran the risk of being dragged into a. wider dispute that no nation would acquire from, according to a. declaration launched after they met on the sidelines of the UN. General Assembly.

A full-scale war could produce instability across the Middle. East in addition to a disastrous war in Gaza which reveals no. indication of reducing.

Israel' possible options could consist of getting into southern. Lebanon and additional widening airstrikes to hit more of the. Hezbollah-controlled southern suburban areas of Beirut or Lebanese. infrastructure, consisting of bridges and highways that were blown. up in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Lebanon can ill manage such damage as it is still. suffering from a catastrophic financial collapse which its. leaders have delegated fester for five years.

FORMIDABLE OPPONENT

Although it has suffered major blows, Hezbollah would likely. be a more powerful enemy for Israel in a ground invasion than. Hamas.

Created in 1982 by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to counter. the Israeli intrusion of Lebanon, it has huge experience, is. highly disciplined and possesses better weaponry than its. Palestinian ally.

But Israel is facing installing public pressure to protect its. northern border and safely return locals there-- a leading war. top priority.

A senior source familiar with Hezbollah thinking stated the. group was in an unprecedented stage of conflict and Israel. was acting as if it looked for to press Hezbollah versus the wall. Hezbollah states it does not desire a wider war.

The Israeli military stated it struck a Hezbollah militant. cell, and its weapons and tanks struck other Hezbollah targets in. the south. Cops in northern Israel stated pieces of. interceptor missiles were discovered in various locations.

After nearly a year of hostilities that flared last October. as the Gaza war appeared, Israel alerted people in Lebanon to. evacuate areas where it stated the armed motion was saving. weapons.

Households from south Lebanon packed automobiles, vans and trucks. with personal belongings and people young and old. Highways north were. gridlocked.

The Lebanese minister collaborating the crisis reaction,. Nasser Yassin, told Reuters 89 short-term shelters in schools and. other facilities had actually been established, with the capacity for more. than 26,000 people as civilians left what he called Israeli. atrocities.

Israel's military said it struck Hezbollah in Lebanon's. south, east and north on Monday, including rocket launchers,. command posts and militant infrastructure. The Israeli Flying Force. struck about 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the. Bekaa Valley, it stated.

Lebanon's health ministry said at least 492 individuals had actually been. eliminated, including 35 kids, and 1,645 wounded. One Lebanese. authorities said it was Lebanon's highest day-to-day death toll from. violence considering that the 1975-1990 civil war.

(source: Reuters)