Pallade Veneta - Israel, Hezbollah in deadly fighting on Lebanon border

Confirmation of the fighting in two border areas came hours after Iran launched its second-ever direct attack on Israel, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn the Islamic republic would pay for its "big mistake".

Hezbollah backer Iran in turn said it would launch an even bigger attack if Israel makes good on its pledge to hit back, defying calls to de-escalate in a war that has already cost more than 1,000 lives in Lebanon since last week.

Israel shifted its focus last month from the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7 attacks by Iran-backed Hamas, to securing its northern border with Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah.

A day after the Israeli military said its troops had started "targeted ground raids" in southern Lebanon, it announced the first death of a soldier in combat across the border since the Israel-Hezbollah war erupted.

Israel kept up its bombardment of Hezbollah's main bastion in south Beirut, where it dealt the militant group a seismic blow last week by killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive strike.

Hezbollah said it forced Israeli soldiers to withdraw after they attempted to enter a border village, and that its fighters were clashing with troops in another area. It said it also targeted an Israeli unit with an explosive device.

The Lebanese army said Israeli troops had staged two brief incursions before withdrawing, adding one of its soldiers had been wounded in an Israeli drone strike.

The Israeli military told residents to evacuate more than 20 areas in south Lebanon, a day after issuing a similar call.

It also said it was bombarding Hezbollah targets in Beirut, with a Lebanese security source saying Israel had hit the city's southern suburbs repeatedly overnight.

AFP correspondents heard about 20 explosions coming from southern Beirut, and smoke billowed over the area.

- Iran missile attack -

Hours after Israel announced the start of ground operations in Lebanon, Iran fired what it said were 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons, sending frightened Israeli civilians into shelters.

Israel, which put the number of missiles at 180, intercepted most of them, while Israeli medics reported two people injured by shrapnel.

One of the missiles damaged a school building.

On Wednesday the Israeli military said several Iranian missiles fell inside air force bases without causing any damage.

In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian was killed in the city of Jericho "when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him", the city's governor Hussein Hamayel told AFP.

"Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"Whoever attacks us, we attack them."

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who was at the command and control centre monitoring the interception of Iranian missiles, also vowed vengeance.

"Iran has not learned a simple lesson -- those who attack the state of Israel, pay a heavy price," he said in a statement.

- 'Severe consequences' -

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the missiles were fired in response to Israel's killing of Nasrallah, as well as the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran bombing in July.

The attack also sought to avenge Israel's killing of leading Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan of the Quds Force, the Guards' foreign operations arm.

Lebanon's disaster management agency said 1,873 people have been killed since Israel and Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

The spike in violence has forced hundreds of thousands more to flee their homes.

President Joe Biden said the United States was "fully supportive" of Israel after the missile attack.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slammed an "outrageous act of aggression" by Iran, while Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters there would be "severe consequences".

Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, threatened to fire "with bigger intensity" if Israel makes good on its pledge to retaliate.

- 'Very disappointed' -

The conflict is now expected to escalate, with analyst Jordan Barkin saying: "This will not end well."

"Netanyahu has a long history of fighting back strongly and quickly when provoked. Restraint is not Mr. Netanyahu's strong suit," he said.

James Demmin-De Lise, an analyst who writes for The Times of Israel newspaper, agreed.

"I think we'll see Israel launch decisive attacks against Iran. Likely with the hope of toppling the Islamic regime," he said.

But some Israelis expressed fatigue with the war, with Tel Aviv resident Liron Yori, 22, saying: "I feel very, very disappointed. I see where the war's going and I don't I don't feel comfortable with it."

In central Beirut, people were weary and afraid, though some Hezbollah supporters were defiant.

Youssef Amir, displaced from southern Lebanon, said: "I have lost my home and relatives in this war, but all of that is a sacrifice for Lebanon, for Hezbollah".

The Iran strikes prompted widespread condemnation as well as renewed calls for the escalation in violence to stop.

- Deadly strikes on Gaza -

UN chief Antonio Guterres slammed the "broadening conflict in the Middle East" and renewed his calls for a ceasefire, but stopped short of explicitly condemning Iran.

Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after Hamas staged its October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,689 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli bombings killed 19 people on Tuesday.

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F.Abruzzese--PV