Photos: Israel, Hezbollah in deadly cross-border clashes

A man walks amid the rubble of a building levelled in an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the neighbourhood of Moawwad in Beirut's southern suburbs on October 3, 2024. Israel kept up its bombardment of Beirut after Iran launched its second and largest attack on Israel in months, which prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn Tehran would pay.

A rescuer walks in front of a building still smouldering after it was levelled in an overnight Israeli airstrike. Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and traded hostilities with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon as the country's forces kept up their campaign against the Iran-backed militant group.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb on October 3, 2024. Nine people died in the center of the Lebanese capital after an Israeli strike on a medical site affiliated with Hezbollah, according to local authorities.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike against one of its posts in the south of the country killed a soldier. Israel said Wednesday eight of its troops were killed in battles against Hezbollah, its first casualties since starting a ground incursion earlier this week.

A man collects a Palestinian flag from the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli airstrike, on October 3, 2024 in central Beirut.

A mannequin lies following an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the neighbourhood of Moawwad in Beirut's southern suburbs.

A man rides a motocycle past destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern al-Jamous suburb, on October 3, 2024.

People inspect a cemetary that was damaged an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut.

The Israeli government is yet to retaliate for Iran's barrage of missiles on Tuesday evening, which caused minor damage and few casualties. World powers are concerned that, should it strike critical Iranian assets, the Islamic Republic will lash out and escalate the conflict, dragging in more countries and potentially disrupting global energy shipments.

US President Joe Biden said Israel should hold off from targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, something Tehran has long warned would provoke an aggressive response. "The answer is no," he said to a question about whether the US would support such an attack by Israel. "They have a right to respond, but they have to respond proportionally."