JERUSALEM, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Thursday it was preparing to expand its "operations" against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Speaking at a situation assessment meeting with senior officers, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to "prepare to expand IDF (Israel Defense Forces) operations in Lebanon."
He said the goal was to "restore peace and security to the northern communities."
The announcement came as Israel again pounded the Lebanese capital, Beirut, overnight, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least eight people were killed.
Hezbollah fired rare barrages of about 200 rockets from Lebanon on Wednesday night and into Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson told reporters in a briefing on Thursday. Three of the barrages were carried out simultaneously with missile attacks from Iran.
The joint barrages triggered alarms across Israel, from the north to the southern Red Sea resort city of Eilat. Police said the hits caused damage to two buildings in the north and center, while the Magen David Adom rescue service said two people were lightly injured.
Also on Thursday, the military said its warplanes had begun "a wide-scale wave of strikes" against government infrastructure across Iran, without elaborating.
The developments marked the latest escalation in a deadly regional conflict that began with a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28, during which Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite group in Lebanon, later fired rockets and drones toward Israel, citing retaliation for Khamenei's killing. Israel responded with heavy bombardments of southern Lebanon and Beirut, and on March 3 its troops crossed into Lebanon and seized several areas near the border. ■
