Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israeli forces have intensified their military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, citing strikes on multiple locations including the Beirut’s southern suburbs and areas south of the Litani River.

“We struck Beirut just now, and Tyre yesterday, and our forces crossed the Litani River,” Netanyahu stated. “We are striking — and will continue to strike — Hezbollah with great force.”

The remarks follow a series of Israeli air operations across Lebanon. Earlier on Thursday, an airstrike targeted the Choueifat area south of Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later confirmed the attack.

Over the past 24 hours, the IDF said it struck more than 135 Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley, Tyre, and other areas of southern Lebanon. According to the military, the strikes targeted approximately 10 rocket launch sites allegedly used by Hezbollah to target Israeli forces and civilians. The IDF also said it eliminated an armed cell as it was leaving a launch site used in rocket attacks.

In a parallel statement, the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs accused Hezbollah of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, claiming the group has killed 12 Israelis since the agreement, including both civilians and soldiers. It also stated that since March 2, Hezbollah has fired more than 8,700 projectiles across the Israel-Lebanon border.

The ministry further argued that Lebanon has failed to dismantle Hezbollah, describing it as “the Iranian terror army operating on its soil,” and warned that the country risks being drawn deeper into instability. It also emphasized that “Israel has no territorial claims in Lebanon.”

On Thursday, Arabic spokesperson for the IDF Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for the city of Tyre and over a dozen towns in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported subsequent airstrikes across multiple areas in southern Lebanon, including locations that had been previously warned.

The escalation marks one of the most intense phases of cross-border fighting in recent weeks, with operations expanding across southern Lebanon and deeper into the country’s interior.