Israel launched new airstrikes against Tehran and expanded its military campaign to include attacks on the Iranian-backed Shiite armed movement "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, and US President Donald Trump made it clear that the US and Israeli military operation against Iranian regime targets could continue for weeks, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
According to initial reports, 31 people were killed and 149 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Israel said it was attacking sites linked to Hezbollah fighters, one of Tehran's main allies in the Middle East, after the Shiite movement admitted to attacking Israel with missiles and drones in response to the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel carried out airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, with more than a dozen explosions shaking the Lebanese capital. Israel said it had also struck senior Hezbollah fighters near Beirut.
The exchange of strikes between Hezbollah and Israel has widened the conflict that has gripped the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday morning, sending oil prices soaring and disrupting air traffic.
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah was "fully responsible for any escalation" and warned residents of dozens of villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate.
Israeli army chief of staff General Eyal Zamir said on Monday that the strikes against Hezbollah were could last for days, AFP reported.
"We have launched an offensive against "Hezbollah", Zamir said in a video released by the army.
Shortly after 7:00 a.m. local time (and Bulgarian time) across Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, air raid sirens sounded, warning of a new Iranian attack.
A new wave of missiles was fired from central Iran at "enemy positions", Iranian state media reported.