Israeli airstrikes in leave 274 dead, over 700 injured

Israeli air strikes killed 274 people, including 21 children, in south Lebanon Monday, the Lebanese health minister said, in by far the deadliest cross-border escalation since war erupted in Gaza on October 7.

War began when Palestinian group Hamas carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel, with Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups around the region drawn into the violence.

Israel said it had hit more than 300 Hezbollah sites with dozens of strikes on Monday, while Hezbollah said it had targeted five sites in Israel.

The toll was "274 dead, including 21 children and 39 women", said Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad, adding that about 5,000 people had been wounded in Israeli attacks since Tuesday.

World powers have implored Israel and Hezbollah to pull back from the brink of all-out war, with the focus of violence shifting sharply in recent days from Israel's southern front with Gaza to its northern border with Lebanon.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told people in Lebanon to avoid potential targets linked to Hezbollah as strikes would "go on for the near future".

Hagari said Israel's military "will engage in (more) extensive and precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon".

He told civilians to "immediately move out of harm's way for their safety".