Lebanon, Israel trade heavy fire after strike targeting Hezbollah

Israeli jets pound southern Lebanon as militant group rains rockets on military targets

Israel and Lebanon exchanged heavy fire into Sept. 22, with Israeli warplanes carrying out the most intense bombardment in almost a year of war across Lebanon's south, while Hezbollah claimed rocket attacks on military targets in Israel's north.

The Israeli military said it struck around 290 targets on Sept. 21, including thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels, and said it would continue to strike targets of the Iran-backed movement.

Israel closed schools and restricted gatherings in many northern areas of the country and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights early on Sept. 22.

The conflict - sharply escalated over the past week - has been waged since Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel, after Israel went to war with Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, triggered by the Hamas-led rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Sirens sounded all night as multiple rockets and missiles were fired from Lebanon and Iraq, most of which were intercepted by Israeli aerial defence systems, the military said.

Several buildings were struck, including a house badly damaged near the Israeli city of Haifa. Rescue teams treated the wounded, but there were no reports of fatalities, as residents had been instructed to stay near bomb shelters and safe rooms.