The Israeli air force bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut after Hezbollah militants fired several salvos of rockets and swarms of drones overnight. Two people were injured in the attack, but most of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defences or landed in uninhabited areas, The Guardian reported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps subsequently announced that it had participated in the attacks alongside Hezbollah. According to their statement, it was a „joint and coordinated operation“ in which Iran fired rockets simultaneously with Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.

According to Fars and Tasnim, the operation hit more than 50 targets in Israeli territory, including military bases in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba.

The pro-Iranian movement called its action „Operation Chewed Wheat“. It refers to a verse from the Quran about crushing enemies into „chewed wheat“. It was the most intense attack since the start of the current crisis, which erupted ten days ago when Hezbollah first fired rockets into Israel.

Meanwhile, the fighting in Lebanon is becoming one of the most serious flashpoints of tension in the Middle East. The conflict has flared up in the wider context of the war between Israel and Iran, which was launched two weeks ago by Israel and the United States.

The Israeli response came almost immediately. Warplanes launched a massive bombardment of the southern suburbs of Beirut. A red glow of explosions flashed over the city, shattering windows of houses, and footage from the scene showed collapsed buildings and streets shrouded in thick smoke.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the Israeli attack also hit the Ramlet al-Baida area in central Beirut on the seafront promenade, where displaced families have been sleeping in recent days. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least seven people were killed in the strike.

Other airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs have injured at least 17 people, but authorities warn that the actual death toll may be higher as the bombing has hit more locations across the country.

The Israeli army said its operations primarily target Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. An army spokesman also urged residents to stay away from those areas because Israel was prepared to use „overwhelming force“.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli strikes have left at least 634 dead and 1 586 wounded in less than ten days. Meanwhile, more than 816 700 families have registered as internally displaced.

Tensions are further heightened by signals that Israel could expand its operation against Hezbollah. Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday discussed the situation in Lebanon and sought ways to prevent further rocket attacks on Israeli territory.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir ordered troop reinforcements on the northern border with Lebanon. The elite Golani Brigade, specialising in ground assault operations, was moved in from the Gaza Strip. Analysts warn that this move may indicate preparations for a larger ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah forces is already taking place in several locations in southern Lebanon, particularly around the strategic high ground near the town of al-Khiam. Small groups of elite Radwan fighters are reportedly launching ambushes against Israeli forces.

The Lebanese government, meanwhile, has called on Hezbollah to stop shelling Israel and stressed that the monopoly on the use of force should be held exclusively by the state. However, the weak and underfunded Lebanese army has so far been unable to directly engage the powerful armed movement.

Beirut, together with French diplomats, is also appealing to the international community to help enforce the ceasefire and open negotiations with Israel. But both Israel and the United States doubt that the Lebanese government can disarm Hezbollah.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, therefore publicly questioned the Lebanese government's actions and asked what specific operations it was undertaking against Hezbollah launch sites and where the organisation's confiscated weapons were.

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