Israeli forces launched fresh strikes on Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on October 15 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed no mercy for the Iran-backed militant group.
Multiple Israeli strikes targeted Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, taking a hospital in the city of Baalbek out of service, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
SEE ALSO: Living Under The Threat Of Hezbollah Rockets In Northern IsraelThe strikes came as Netanyahu vowed a ruthless response to a Hezbollah drone strike that killed four Israeli soldiers in central Israel on October 13.
Netanyahu, speaking during a visit to the military base where the four soldiers were killed, said Israel would continue to strike the group "without mercy, everywhere in Lebanon -- including Beirut."
Hezbollah -- which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing, and not the political party -- controls much of southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah attack on the Israeli army base in the town of Binyamina was one of the bloodiest since October last year and employed a "swarm" of drones that were difficult to locate and destroy by the Israeli air defenses.
Israel's sophisticated air defenses have usually shot down Hezbollah's rockets without problems.
Following the deadly Hezbollah strike, Israel killed at least 21 people in an air strike in northern Lebanon on October 14. Israel also ordered residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which is some 60 kilometers north of the border with Israel.
Separately, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on October 15 that he will take into account the position of the United States -- Israel's main ally -- but will have his country's own "national interests" as a top priority as it ponders a response to a massive Iranian attack earlier this month.
"We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest," his office said in a statement.
Fears of an all-out regional war grew as signs indicated Israel could be preparing to launch a direct strike on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's strike on October 1.
U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Netanyahu against striking Iran's nuclear or oil facilities to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.
On October 13, Biden announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel as part of U.S. efforts to defend its ally.