Israel, which has carried out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, has ramped up its raids since the October 7, 2023, attack by the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli territory, which ignited Israel's war in Gaza.
Israel has escalated its retaliation for the Hamas attack, sending troops into Lebanon and air strikes into Iran, Yemen and Syria in the hunt for Iran-backed militants, raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could draw in Iran and the United States.
Ground clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran, were spreading along southern Lebanon's mountainous frontier on Wednesday as the Middle East was on high alert awaiting Israel's response to an Iranian missile strike last week.
The Middle East is on high alert awaiting Israel's response to an Iranian missile strike. (AP PHOTO)
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday about potential Israeli retaliation against Iran, in a call both sides described as positive.
The leaders discussed Israel's plans in the 30-minute call, and Biden urged Netanyahu to minimise civilian harm in Lebanon, the White House said.
Israel has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, which caused little damage, while Tehran says any retaliation would be met with vast destruction.
Biden last week made comments discouraging Israel from striking Iranian oil fields and said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had eliminated two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon and its fighter jets attacked ammunition depots in the Beirut area and ammunition depots and other military infrastructures in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
The Israel Defence Force said on Wednesday it had eliminated Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah's "Golan Terrorist Network" in the area of Quneitra in Syria.
It said Jahout's role was to relay information from Syrian regime sources to Hezbollah and transmit intelligence gathered on the Syrian front to aid operations against Israel in the Golan Heights.
Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu's call was "direct and very productive", the White House says. (AP PHOTO)
Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the area, a move not recognised by most countries.
Syrian state TV said early on Thursday that Israel had carried out air strikes targeting an industrial site in the city of Homs and a military site near the city of Hama, causing "some material damage".
The strikes targeted a car factory in Homs and caused a fire, Syrian TV said, and explosions were also heard in the Syrian city of Daraa and were being investigated.
The Biden-Netanyahu discussion was "direct and very productive", White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the leaders had disagreements.
Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, told reporters the two held "a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the US".
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense over the Israeli leader's handling of Gaza and Lebanon.
The US has tried to prevent hostilities escalating and has unsuccessfully sought to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
Turkish citizens are among the many foreign nationals fleeing Lebanon as the conflict escalates. (AP PHOTO)
Some analysts say Israel is most likely to respond to Iran's October 1 attack by targeting Iranian military installations, especially those that produce ballistic missiles like the ones used in the attack.
In a video carried by Israeli media on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated plans for a "deadly, precise and above all surprising" strike against Iran.
Israel's bombardment of Lebanon has killed more than 2100 people, most of them in the past few weeks, and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
Israel says it has no choice but to strike Hezbollah so tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they fled under Hezbollah rocket fire.
The Hamas attack a year ago killed about 1200 people while about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, the Gaza health ministry says.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the enclave has been laid to waste.
