BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Israel bombarded Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, with no respite in the conflict one day after its strikes on Iran raised fears of a broader war.
The Israeli military said it had killed 70 Hezbollah fighters and struck 120 targets in southern Lebanon and carried out 鈥減recision strikes鈥� on weapons factories and storage facilities in the Iran-backed group鈥檚 southern Beirut stronghold over the past day.
In Gaza, it said, it had eliminated 鈥�40 terrorists over the past day.鈥� Correspondents and witnesses in Gaza confirmed that the north of the Palestinian territory had been hit.
The ongoing fighting came as Israel marked the first anniversary under the Hebrew calendar of Hamas鈥檚 bloody cross-border attack on October 7 last year.
Following Saturday鈥檚 Israeli air strikes, which killed at least four soldiers, Iran said it had a 鈥渄uty鈥� to respond, but its military said it was prioritising a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also seemed to indicate that Israel was done striking Iran, saying the attack on Saturday was 鈥減recise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives.鈥�
In Gaza, which UN human rights chief Volker Turk says is facing its 鈥渄arkest hour,鈥� Israeli forces are again carrying out a ground and air campaign in the north that they say aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Attacks on Beirut, southern Lebanon 

Smoke hung over the suburbs of Beirut after overnight strikes, which came after the Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings. It urged residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon on Sunday to evacuate immediately and move north of the Awali river.
The Lebanese news agency reporting bombing in the southern cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh.
The war has left at least 1,615 people dead in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.
Th Israeli military said four of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, bringing to 36 the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of ground operations on September 30.
World powers had called Saturday for Iran and Israel to step back from the brink of all out war after a night of Israeli strikes targeting Iranian missile factories and military facilities.
Iran has played down the significance of the strikes, insisting that only a few radar systems were damaged, and the United States has warned Tehran not to respond.
On Sunday, Iran鈥檚 supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to social media to say that the attack 鈥渟hould neither be exaggerated or minimized.鈥�
In his post, Khamenei said Iran should make Israel 鈥渦nderstand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and youth.鈥�
Earlier, the armed forces general staff had said that while it was 鈥渞eserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate moment, Iran is prioritising the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.鈥�

Attack on Iran 
Yet despite Netanyahu鈥檚 remarks that the strikes had achieved Israel鈥檚 objectives, other Israeli figures struck a sharper tone.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the strikes as an 鈥渙pening blow鈥� and opposition figure Yair Lapid said: 鈥淲e could and should have made Iran pay a much heavier price.鈥�
Israel says it carried out the strikes against its arch foe in response to an October 1 attack, when Iran fired around 200 missiles in only its second ever direct attack on Israeli territory.
Most of those missiles were intercepted but one person was killed.
Saturday鈥檚 response was the first avowed Israeli attack on Iran, although an April 19 attack that was never claimed was widely attributed to Israel.
The Israeli strikes were condemned by most of Iran鈥檚 neighbors, and many countries called on one or both of the antagonists to show restraint.
US officials said there had been no direct American military involvement in Israel鈥檚 strikes, which they said were carried out in self-defense.
* With AFP and Reuters