Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and the Israeli military traded massive aerial attacks Sunday as violence along the Israeli-Lebanese border reached ominous new heights.
The attacks came as negotiators met in Cairo for talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, also backed by Iran, amid global concerns the war in Gaza could expand into Lebanon and explode across the region.
Israel and Hezbollah, however, indicated they did not want a full-blown war in Lebanon, and some experts said Sunday's powerful strikes could calm the rising tensions in the short term.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said its attack was in retaliation for the assassination of high-ranking Hezbollah figure Fuad Shukr. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, that "what we did today is another step toward changing the situation" along the Israeli-Lebanese border.