Hezbollah and Israel Exchange Heavy Fire in Border Clash
Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel, as Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack.
The exchange is one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.
Missiles could be seen in the dawn sky, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast lit the horizon.
Israeli strikes could also be seen raining down on southern Lebanese towns.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets towards Israel, and hit 11 military targets.
It added it was the first phase of its retaliation for Israel's assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander, last month.
At least three deaths were confirmed in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said one navy soldier had been killed, and two were wounded in combat in northern Israel.
Israel's military said it had foiled a much larger attack with pre-emptive airstrikes, after assessing that Hezbollah was preparing to launch the barrage.
Hezbollah dismissed Israel's statement, saying it had been able to launch its drones as planned.
It indicated it was not planning further strikes yet, and said that the rest of its response to Shukr's killing would take "some time."
Any major escalation in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Hezbollah's backer Iran and Israel's main ally the United States.
Israel's foreign minister said the country did not seek a full-scale war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a statement. "We are determined to do everything possible to defend our country, to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and to continue to uphold a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we harm him."
These strikes came as negotiators were again meeting in Cairo, in a last-ditch effort to conclude a halt to the fighting in Gaza.
The White House said President Joe Biden was following events in the region closely.
