Israel's military said it killed a top Hezbollah commander as part of a two-day aerial barrage that has left more than 560 people dead and prompted thousands in southern Lebanon to seek refuge from the widening conflict, as Lebanon says only the Unites States can help end the fighting.
The IDF said the air strikes on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah's missile and rocket force.
Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that its senior commander was killed in an Israeli strike, describing him as a leading figure in the Iran-backed group's rocket division.
Israel's offensive since Monday morning has killed 569 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835 in Lebanon, Health Minister Firass Abiad told state media.
With the two sides on the brink of all-out war, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel, targeting an explosives factory and sending families into bomb shelters.
Families that fled southern Lebanon flocked to Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon, sleeping in schools turned into shelters, as well as in cars, parks and along the beach. Some sought to leave the country, causing a traffic jam at the border with Syria.
Israel said late on Tuesday that fighter jets carried out "extensive strikes" on Hezbollah weapons and rocket launchers across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa region to the north.
Asked about the duration of Israel's operations in Lebanon, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a news conference that it aims to keep them "as short as possible, that's why we're attacking with great force. At the same time, we must be prepared for it to take longer."
Suspected Israeli missiles were also launched at the Syrian port city of Tartous and were intercepted by Syrian air defences, Syrian army sources said.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the report.
UN Security Council to discuss escalating conflict
The UN Security Council said it would meet on Wednesday to discuss the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel is shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern frontier, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
"The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world — cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
In what was likely his final address to the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden sought to calm Mideast tensions.
"Full-scale war is not in anyone's interest, even if a situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible," he told the General Assembly.
Lebanon's foreign minister says Biden's address 'not strong enough' as US is key
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said Mr Biden's address was "not strong, not promising" and the US was the only country "that can really make a difference in the Middle East."
The United States "is the key … to our salvation," he told senior fellow Aaron David Miller at an event in New York City hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"We've had enough war."
Washington is Israel's longtime ally and biggest arms supplier.
He said Lebanon's prime minister hoped to meet with US officials over the next two days.
Last few days were 'Hezbollah's October 7', expert says
Speaking to ABC News Channel on Wednesday, Mr Miller said that the last few days was "Hezbollah's October 7," at least from an intelligence perspective.
"It was an intelligence failure and it was an operational failure," he said, referring to the recent bombing campaign carried out by the Israeli military, as well as the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.
"The degrading of their comm's system as well as the elimination of their veteran key senior [commander] ... has positioned Hezbollah as incapable and in a purely defensive mode," he said.
"They are simply incapable of coordinating any air and ground action against the Israel, which leaves the Israeli's with clear escalation dominance."
Half a million displaced in Lebanon, expected to remain so for several months
The foreign minister said half a million people are estimated to have been displaced in Lebanon.
Outside a residential apartment block in Lebanon's capital Beirut, small trucks packed with mattresses and bags of luggage, were banked up on the curb.
The complex was filling up with newly displaced families, like Hassan and his wife and children.
The family from Ghazieh, in Lebanon's south-west, sat in gridlock traffic for seven hours while fleeing to Beirut.
Hassan said he heard continuous bombardment around his home and workplace before he took his family, including a three-month-old baby, and hopped in their car to evacuate north.
He's now prepared to be displaced from his home for several months.
"We felt that the situation is going to be a long situation, not just like 15 or 20 days, so now we are searching for an apartment to stay in," he said.
"It's hard to leave your work, your home, and sit here in a place where you don't belong."
Despite the uncertainty of his future, he said he backs Hezbollah's attacks on Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
"Whatever happens, we are convinced that we are doing the right thing for the people that are oppressed in Palestine," he said.
ABC/Wires
