Israel carried out airstrikes in Lebanon and Gaza on Thursday night following a barrage of rockets that was fired from both into Israeli territory earlier in the day. The escalation between Israel and Lebanon is the most serious since 2006 and the July war that lasted 34 days. 

The airstrikes inside Lebanon have been ongoing since Friday 4:07 a.m. local time (Thursday 9:07 p.m. ET), the Israeli military said. Local news outlets reported that Israel hit the town of Alqulaila near Tyre in south Lebanon.

The Israeli military added that it struck targets linked to the Palestinian armed group Hamas inside Lebanon. Israel held Hamas responsible for launching a barrage of rockets into its territory from Lebanon on Thursday. Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh arrived in Beirut on Thursday and was hosted by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. 

A few hours before launching airstrikes in Lebanon, shortly after midnight local time, Israel struck targets in Gaza. A Palestinian security source told Agence France-Presse that the strikes had hit several Hamas training sites. The Israeli army said it hit two tunnels and two weapons production sites for Hamas in Gaza. The strikes were in response to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel's military said.