Lebanon: Israel says it is 'not looking for war' - but warns Hezbollah its army 'is at full readiness'

Israel will do "whatever is necessary" to push Hezbollah away from its northern border with Lebanon, its military spokesman said.

At least 492 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon - including 35 children - according to the country's health ministry.

Israel attacked hundreds of Hezbollah targets on Monday in Lebanon's deadliest day in decades, with 58 women also reported killed and 1,645 people wounded.

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Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel is "not looking for wars", but said the army is in "full readiness" when asked if the conflict could escalate into one.

Civilian casualties are a "tragedy", he added, but insisted Israel "makes vast efforts not to hit civilians and make every effort to mitigate harm to civilians".

"Among those killed were a large number of Hezbollah terrorists who were next to the weapons that we targeted," he added.

After Hezbollah was rocked by pager and radio explosions last week, which security sources believe were detonated by Israel, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate areas where it claims the militant group is storing weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country faced "complicated days" as it stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, which has also been firing rockets into Israel and caused the evacuation of more than 60,000 people, Israelis say.

"I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north - that is exactly what we are doing," Mr Netanyahu said, with Israel's military announcing it is also targeting the capital Beirut.

Earlier, Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant said the actions would continue until "we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes" - as Hezbollah vowed to fight on until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it has struck around 800 targets connected to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon and the area of the Bekaa valley.

Israel said it also targeted senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki, though the group has said he is "safe".

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister has called Israel's barrage of airstrikes a "genocide in every sense of the word".

Najib Mikati was talking in a cabinet meeting in Beirut, adding that Israel's airstrikes aimed to destroy Lebanon's towns and villages.

There are already 160,000 displaced Lebanese who've fled the south during nearly a year of cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, with authorities reporting "heavy displacement" on Monday.

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Imad Kreidieh, the head of Lebanese telecoms company Ogero, told Reuters on Monday more than 80,000 automated calls asking people to evacuate their areas were detected on the network.

The fighting has raised fears the US, Israel's close ally, and Iran will be sucked into a wider Middle East war.

Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying "traps" to lead his country into a wider conflict.

(c) Sky News 2024: Lebanon: Israel says it is 'not looking for war' - but warns Hezbollah its army 'is at ful