Israel’s military launched extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, on Monday following a large-scale rocket attack by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah on northern Israel. The Israeli army said it was targeting Hezbollah positions throughout Lebanon in response to the assault, vowing to prevent the group from posing any threat to the state of Israel.

According to Al Jazeera, multiple explosions were heard in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a known Hezbollah stronghold, as Israeli warplanes carried out repeated bombings. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an earlier attack on a military base in Israel’s Haifa, saying it was retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike. The group described its actions as a defense of Lebanon and a response to ongoing Israeli aggression.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned against rocket launches from southern Lebanon, calling them irresponsible and dangerous to national security. Analysts fear that the escalating confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah could further intensify and widen the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.