Nearly 500 killed as Israel pounds 1,600 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

September 24 -  Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Iran-backed group attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, increasing fears of a full-blown conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in decades.

Israel's military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group which Lebanese authorities said killed nearly 500 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety.

One Lebanese official said it was Lebanon's highest daily death toll from violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Hezbollah said it targeted several Israeli military targets overnight including an explosives factory 60km (37 miles) into Israel, which it attacked with Fadi rockets around 4 am (0100 GMT). It said it had also attacked the Megiddo airfield near the northern Israeli town of Afula three separate times.

Israel's military said it struck Hezbollah in Lebanon's south, east and north on Monday, including rocket launchers, command posts and militant infrastructure. The Israeli Air Force struck about 1,600 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, it said.