Amid fears of an expanding war in the Middle East following mass detonations of bombs surreptitiously planted in Hezbollah communication devices, Israel continued its assault on the Iran-backed militia overnight.

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, in an airstrike in Beirut, significantly escalating the conflict with the Iran-backed group. The strike also killed eight people and wounded 59 others.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.