A top Hezbollah commander has been killed by an Israeli strike on a building in suburban Beirut, which Lebanese officials say left 14 people dead and scores injured.
Both Israel and Hezbollah said Ibrahim Aqil was killed in the strike in the neighbourhood of Dahiyeh, where the militant group is based.
Lebanon's health ministry said at least 14 people died and 66 others were wounded, nine critically. Israel said its "targeted strike" killed about 10 members of Hezbollah's Radwan special forces unit.
The strike followed Hezbollah launching more than 100 rockets into northern Israel, and Israel striking sites in southern Lebanon. Both sides claimed they were targeting military infrastructure.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement 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.
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.
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.
UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo urged all countries with influence over Israel and Hezbollah to use it, to avoid an escalation of violence.
Speaking to the Security Council after this week's attacks in which Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, she said: "We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far."
"I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now."
Australian response
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, currently in the US for the Quad Summit, said he shared Washington's desire for de-escalation of a situation becoming progressively "difficult" in the Middle East.
"I take the opportunity now to once again call for Australian citizens who are in Lebanon to please come home," he told the media in Philadelphia following a meeting with Joe Biden.
"It is a fact that this situation might become more difficult. We have been saying this for many months now, that people should take the opportunity to get on a commercial plane and come back to Australia."
Mr Albanese also reiterated Australia's calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and a two-state solution.
Defence Minister Richard Marles spoke to the ABC ahead of Mr Albanese's comments, also urging Australians in Lebanon to leave the country immediately.
"It matters to be looking at the travel advisory, which is obviously not to travel to Lebanon, but for the many Australian citizens who are in Lebanon now, if you are seeking to leave, now is the time to do it," he told Weekend Breakfast.
Asked if the government anticipated a further uptick in protests domestically amid the latest escalation, Mr Marles called for anyone looking to protest to do so peacefully.
"The ceasefire proposal that was brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt remains the best chance of peace, and we're encouraging all the participants to adhere to that," he said.
"But we are watching a human catastrophe play out there, and the sooner we see a ceasefire, the better."
Israel, Hezbollah trade fire before Beirut 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 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.
ABC/wires
