JERUSALEM: Israel said Wednesday its forces were carrying out “offensive action” in Lebanon after launching cross-border strikes targeting Hamas ally Hezbollah as Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded the Gaza Strip.

Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group and Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire, heightening fears of a wider conflict breaking out.

In war-battered Gaza, there has been mounting concern over Israeli plans to launch an assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people have sought refuge, many in makeshift encampments.

Aid groups warn any invasion would create catastrophic conditions for civilians, but government spokesman David Mencer said Israel was “moving ahead” with its operation in Rafah, which Israeli officials have described as the “last” major Hamas stronghold where militants may be holding hostages.

Hamas on Wednesday released a video showing a man it said was one of the 129 hostages Israel estimates remain in Gaza, a number that includes 34 presumed dead.

Also on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden signed a bill authorising $13 billion in military aid to close ally Israel. The bill also included $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, which Biden demanded Israel allow reach Palestinians “without delay”.

Regional tensions remain high more than 200 days into the devastating war, which was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that “many forces are deployed” along Israel’s northern border, claiming the military has eliminated “half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon” in months of violence.

Israel has struck increasingly deeper into Lebanon, while Hezbollah has stepped up rocket fire and drone attacks on Israeli military bases across the border.

“IDF (military) forces are currently carrying out offensive action throughout southern Lebanon”, Gallant said, without specifying whether ground troops had crossed the border.

Early Wednesday, hospital and security sources in Gaza reported Israeli air strikes in Rafah as well as the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

An AFP correspondent and witnesses reported heavy bombardment in northern Gaza overnight.

Government spokesman Mencer said “Israel is moving ahead with our operation to target Hamas in Rafah”, without providing a timeline.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted the assault on Rafah will go ahead, despite opposition from humanitarian groups and countries including the US.