Tensions Escalate as Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets and Thwarts Assassination Plot

Israel bombed southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah's communications equipment, which led to significant casualties and heightened fears of full-blown war. The situation is further complicated by claims of thwarted Israeli-led assassination plots in Iran. Both countries blame each other for the increasing violence.

Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday and claimed to have thwarted an Iranian-led assassination plot, following explosions in booby-trapped radios and pagers that caused chaos within Hezbollah. The attacks on Hezbollah's communications devices killed 37 and injured around 3,000.

The violence has heightened concerns of an impending full-scale war, as panic spreads among Lebanese residents, prompting authorities to blow up suspicious telecom devices and ban walkie-talkies and pagers from flights.

Israeli security forces revealed an Israeli businessman had been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate top Israeli officials. Meanwhile, the U.N. peacekeeping mission reports ongoing exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border.

(With inputs from agencies.)