Israel expanded its war effort against Iran to southern Lebanon on Monday after Iranian proxy Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel overnight.

“We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah,” Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, said in a situational assessment on Monday. “We are not only operating defensively — we are now going on the offensive as well. We must prepare for many prolonged days of combat ahead.”

The war against Iran and Hezbollah “requires strong defensive readiness and sustained offensive readiness, operating in continuous waves while constantly utilizing opportunities,” Zamir said.

On Sunday, Zamir also spoke of Israel’s “close cooperation with our most important partner — the United States of America. We are working in coordination with CENTCOM, with AFCENT, CENTCOM’s Air Force, and there is undoubtedly tremendous force here.”

Hours after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel at about 1 a.m. Monday, the IDF carried out strikes against dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and as far north as Beirut that extended into the morning. Targets included senior Hezbollah terrorists, command posts, infrastructure and a vehicle carrying operatives from the Sh’ia militia’s elite Radwan force. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem “decided on the attack under pressure from Iran [and] is from this moment a marked target for elimination.”

The IDF will “act forcefully against Hezbollah,” Katz added, “while continuing to advance the primary objective: crushing and defeating the Iranian terror regime and neutralizing its capabilities in Operation Lion’s Roar in order to remove the threats against the State of Israel and enable the citizens of Iran to rise up against the regime and overthrow it.”

The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued evacuation notices for 53 villages in southern Lebanon.

“The IDF had previously prepared for the possibility of Hezbollah joining the hostilities,” the military spokesperson’s office stated. “In the Northern Command, combat forces were significantly reinforced along the border with both defensive and offensive capabilities. This preparation enabled a rapid and robust counterattack while maintaining full operational protection across all scenarios.”

The expansion of the war to a second front followed a month of smaller IDF strikes in southern Lebanon, as Hezbollah continued efforts to rebuild after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and many other leading figures in the Iranian proxy group in late 2024.

As Operation Roaring Lion, as the IDF called its strikes on Iran, was launched on Saturday, the IDF called up 70,000 reservists to bolster its forces in all sectors, including the northern border, as well as Central Command, focusing on counterterrorism activity in the West Bank, and Southern Command, to defend the Yellow Line in Gaza and protect residents of southern Israel.

The IDF continued intercepting Iranian missiles on Monday, including over Jerusalem, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was targeting the Prime Minister’s Office and the home of Air Force Commander Tomer Bar.

Israel confirmed that on the first day of the war, it eliminated 40 commanders, including the Iranian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, whose predecessor was eliminated by the Israeli Air Force last year. 

In addition, the IDF targeted the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, killing Sayed Yahya Hamidi, deputy minister of intelligence for ‘Israel affairs,’ who directed attacks on Jews around the world, and Jalal Pour Hossein, head of the espionage division, among others. 

The Intelligence Ministry reported directly to Iran’s supreme leader and was also a central tool through which Iran monitored citizens and provided intelligence for the violent suppression of protests. It has long been under U.S. sanctions. 

The IDF said that, in addition to missiles, the air force and navy have intercepted dozens of Iranian drones launched toward Israel. 

Late Sunday and early Monday, Iranian missiles struck Jerusalem twice, including one that landed right outside the walls of the Old City. 

The second strike, in a residential neighborhood, injured five, Magen David Adom reported.

On Sunday, 10 were killed as a result of missile strikes, mostly in a barrage that decimated a residential area in Jerusalem suburb Bet Shemesh.

Since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, there have been 12 fatalities in Israel. MDA reported 228 injuries.

Also Monday, Israel’s Energy Ministry instructed a halt on gas production at the Leviathan platform in the Mediterranean Sea.