Israel has claimed the death of a senior Hezbollah military official after a rare Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more, shortly after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets.

Iran-aligned group Hezbollah accused its arch-foe Israel of detonating pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, a sophisticated operation that followed a series of assassinations of Israel's enemies since the Gaza war erupted on Oct.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded blows in recent days, as the conflict has escalated with few off-ramps in sight to avoid total war.