Is the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalating? Heavy exchange of fire raises fears of a full-scale war: What we know so far

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fierce fire on Sunday. Hezbollah said it had attacked Israel's Ramat David air base with dozens of rockets in response to “repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon,” the Iran-backed group posted on its Telegram channel early Sunday. Israel responded quickly, attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the military said in a statement.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it fired over 100 rockets over a larger and deeper area of ​​northern Israel early Sunday. Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out the “most intense bombardment” of the nearly year-long war in southern Lebanon, AFP reported.

The shelling came after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday killed at least 45 people, raising fears of all-out war. Hezbollah reportedly said it would continue to fight Israel until it agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

What's happening in Israel, Iran and Lebanon? Here you'll find all the news you need to know:

1. An Israeli airstrike targeted Hezbollah military commanders in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday. The Lebanese Health Ministry said: “The number of dead [in Friday’s attack] has risen to 45 people.”

2. Senior Hezbollah commanders were among those killed in Friday's attack. Iran-backed Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of two senior commanders, including Radwan Forces chief Ibrahim Aqil, in an Israeli airstrike on their base in Beirut, AFP news agency reported.

3. Israeli warplanes bombed southern Lebanon on Saturday, raising fears of a full-scale war, AFP news agency reported. The Israeli strikes came as Hezbollah is already reeling from a sophisticated attack that detonated thousands of private devices just days earlier.

4. On Sunday, Lebanon's Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets into a larger and deeper area of ​​northern Israel, some of which landed near the city of Haifa. The Israeli military said the rockets were fired “at civilian areas,” indicating a possible escalation after previous attacks had mainly targeted military targets.

Hezbollah said it fired dozens of Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 rockets – a new type of weapon the group had not used before – at the Ramat David air base southeast of Haifa “in response to repeated Israeli attacks on various Lebanese regions that resulted in many civilian martyrs.”

5. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted in the areas around Haifa and Nazareth early Sunday. Israel has cancelled classes across the north, further deepening the sense of crisis.

The Israel Defense Forces said on X: “Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians spent the night in shelters while rockets flew over their heads, some of which hit their homes, and rocket alarm sirens sounded continuously throughout the night. Thousands of children will stay in shelters today instead of going to school because doing so will put their lives at risk.

5. In another development, Israeli forces raided the West Bank office of Al-Jazeera, which they banned earlier this year, accusing the channel of serving as a mouthpiece for militant groups. The pan-Arab broadcaster denied the allegations.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza broke out almost a year ago, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in fierce clashes. Smaller fighting has left dozens of people dead in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon, and tens of thousands displaced on both sides of the border.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage. They still hold about 100 prisoners, a third of whom are presumed dead. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed. It does not give details of how many fighters, but says over half of the dead are women and children.

(With contributions from agencies)