Hezbollah said in a statement that it had fired dozens of rockets at Israeli military posts in the Galilee, and for the second day in a row targeted a facility belonging to the Haifa-based Rafael defense company. Israel said one person was wounded by shrapnel.
Casualties in Lebanon were much higher, with the Health Ministry reporting 274 dead and 1,024 injured.
The ministry instructed hospitals in the south and east to halt non-essential surgeries in order to focus on treating those wounded in the attacks. The Ministry of Education also suspended classes at the Lebanese University in Beirut on Monday and Tuesday and closed all high schools, vocational and technical schools.
An Israeli military official told NBC News that the warning to civilians to leave militant positions was the first of its kind issued by the IDF in Lebanon, adding that the operation involved only air strikes, not a ground offensive.
The official said Israel wants to create a safe environment in which its citizens can return to the north of the country and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.
About 60,000 people have fled the Israeli side of the border, according to the Israeli government, while more than 100,000 have fled in Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration.
“We have to get our people back home,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Sky News on Sunday. “This is clearly a very dangerous situation that has the potential to escalate dramatically,” he said, blaming Hezbollah for starting the conflict.
President Joe Biden also warned that violence could escalate.
“We will do everything in our power to prevent a bigger war from breaking out,” he told reporters on Sunday.