U.S. officials say Israel warned U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call Tuesday that a military operation was going to take place in Lebanon.

Tensions have mounted along the Lebanon-Israel border amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with an offensive against Gaza. The offensive has killed over 41,200 people since last October following a Hamas attack.

Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country

Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind an exploding pager attack which injured more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of the militant group’s fighters and paramedics, across Lebanon.

The absence of a full-blown war in Lebanon has been touted as a core U.S. achievement, but now Washington’s grip on the crisis appears more tenuous than ever.

The Israeli military launched a new wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, after two days of device explosions that left the Middle East fearing all-out war.

The Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, shortly before the movement's leader was due to give a speech. It also said the military chief of staff had approved plans for Israel's north,

Israel has not commented on the mass attack on Hezbollah communications but multiple reports have said it was carried out by its spy agency Mossad.

The leader of Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for this week’s deadly attacks on the group’s communications devices