The Israeli military says it killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior members of the militant group in a strike on Lebanon's capital Beirut.
Lebanon's health ministry says at least 12 people were killed and 66 others wounded in the attack in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where the militant group is based.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil and about 10 others from the group's Radwan special forces unit in what it said was a "targeted strike" on Friday afternoon, local time.
Israel claimed in a statement following the strike that Aqil and the other killed commanders were planning an attack in which Hezbollah would infiltrate Israeli communities and murder innocent civilians.
"The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today had been planning their 'October 7th' on the northern border for years," Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said.
"We reached them, and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel's citizens."
Aqil was also wanted by the United States government for alleged involvement in the bombing of the US embassy and US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983.
He has served as the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force and Jihad Council, the group's highest military body.
Hezbollah is yet to confirm who was killed.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the US did not have prior knowledge of the strike and urged American citizens to leave Lebanon.
Warning sirens went off in northern Israel following the Beirut strike. Israeli media reported heavy rocket fire in the area.
In a post on X, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would not let up following the assassinations of the Hezbollah commanders.
"The sequence of actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes."
Communities in northern Israel have been evacuated for months amid fighting in the border region.
Israel, Hezbollah trade rocket fire before strike
Israel struck after Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets at Israeli territory on Friday afternoon, local time.
An IDF spokesperson told the AFP news agency that "some 140 rockets were fired from Lebanon within an hour starting at 1:02pm".
Israel's ambulance service said there were no immediate reports of casualties caused by the Hezbollah rockets.
The barrage of rockets came after the Israeli military said it struck dozens of rocket launchers, which were ready for use against Israel, in its most intense strikes on southern Lebanon in nearly a year of war.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military bases in retaliation for strikes on southern Lebanon. It launched "salvos of Katyusha rockets" against at least six Israeli "army headquarters" and bases, including a "main air defence base", it said.
Israel also confirmed further air strikes in southern Lebanon on Friday, local time, saying it had targeted military buildings used by Hezbollah.
Tensions have soared between Hezbollah and Israel following deadly attacks on the militant group's communications network earlier this week.
Exploding pagers and walkie-talkies left 37 people dead and about 3,000 others injured across Lebanon.
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attacks but Israel is yet to confirm or deny its involvement.
The militant group's chief, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed on Thursday to continue daily strikes against Israel until the war in Gaza was over.
Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials say 27 people were killed in Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday.
Officials told the Reuters news agency that shelling and air strikes were to blame for the deaths.
It was not clear how many of the casualties were combatants and how many were civilians.
The Israeli military has said that forces operating in Rafah had in recent weeks killed hundreds of Palestinian militants, located tunnels and explosives and destroyed military infrastructure.
US President Joe Biden insisted a ceasefire deal in Gaza was still realistic.
"We have to keep at it," Mr Biden told reporters ahead of a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday, local time.
When asked about the impact of fighting in other parts of the region, he said: "We have to make sure that the people of northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to get back to their homes, and get back safely."
More than 40,000 Palestinians, including thousands of women and children, have been killed by Israel's bombardment of Gaza since Hamas's October 7 attack, according to the local health ministry.
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