Israel has launched fresh strikes in Lebanon, a day after it carried out an air strike in the capital Beirut that killed 37 people, including three children.
Apart from launching an offensive, Israel has also restricted gatherings in the city of Haifa and other northern areas as it continues to attack targets linked to Hezbollah, reported BBC.
Dozens of fighter jets started "extensively" striking southern Lebanon "following detection of Hezbollah preparing to fire toward Israeli territory", Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said.
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The Sunday offensive comes a day after Israel carried out an air strike in Beirut, which the IDF said killed a dozen commanders. According to Lebanon, 37 people were killed in the attack including three children.
The US government has urged its citizens to leave the country "via commercial options while still available".
Before the beginning of the Israeli strikes, the IDF had said earlier that it had destroyed "about 180 sites and thousands of [rocket] launcher barrels" with strikes
The Israeli forces also said that over 90 rockets were fired at Israeli territory from Lebanon while Hezbollah said it targeted 11 Israeli military positions over the course of the day. The armed rebellion group, backed by Iran, said it fired dozens of rockets towards the Ramat David Airbase in Israel's north in retaliation for the Israeli attacks on Saturday night.
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Earlier this week, Lebanon was rocked by a simultaneous explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies that killed 39 people. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the attacks and vowed retaliation saying it had crossed "all red lines."
Israel has not commented on the incident so far.
The IDF has also announced new restrictions on Saturday on communities in northern Israel and parts of the southern Golan Heights. As per the restrictions, not more than 30 participants will be allowed to gather in open areas and 300 participants in closed spaces. Educational activities have been allowed to continue and arrival to work is permitted as long as there are protected spaces available.