Fears of all-out war rise as Israel and Hezbollah step up attacks

Thick smoke rises above the southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israel strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in Lebanon's capital killed at least eight people and wounded dozens of others in a Sept 20, 2024, file picture. - AFP

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP): Lebanon's Hezbollah has launched over 100 rockets early Sunday (Sept 22) across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as the sides appeared to be spiralling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.

The rocket barrage overnight sent thousands of people scrambling into shelters. The Israeli military said rockets had been fired "toward civilian areas," pointing to a possible escalation after previous barrages had mainly been aimed at military targets.