The Israeli military demanded civilians in southern Lebanon evacuate their homes immediately as it expanded cross-border attacks and airstrikes against Hezbollah on Monday.

It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday.

Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of members.

However, there was no sign of an immediate exodus from the villages of southern Lebanon.

The escalating strikes and counterstrikes have raised fears of an all-out war, even as Israel continues its genocidal war on Gaza.

Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group, while Israel says it is committed to returning calm to the border.

Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting many areas Monday morning, including some far from the border.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, for the first time since the exchanges began in October.

No injuries were reported there. Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, where a shepherd was killed and two family members were wounded, according to the news agency. It said a total of 17 people were wounded in the strikes.

An Israeli military official said Israel is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah's ability to launch more strikes into Israel.

'Move away'

Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages urging them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice.

"If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice," the Arabic message reads, according to Lebanese media.

Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message telling people to leave the building.

"This comes in the framework of the psychological war implemented by the enemy," Makary said, and urged people "not to give the matter more attention than it deserves."

It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the Israeli orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied out because of the near-daily exchanges of fire.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into bases, with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. That could lead it to wage an especially heavy bombing campaign, even if no ground forces move in.

The military said it had targeted more than 150 sites early Monday. Residents of different villages in southern Lebanon posted photos on social media of airstrikes and large plumes of smoke. The state-run National News Agency also reported airstrikes in different areas.

An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.

Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Experts and analysts agree that Israel almost certainly carried out the attacks.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. Hamas 7 incursion triggered Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily intensified over the past year.

The fighting has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. It has also sparked brush fires that have destroyed agriculture and scarred the landscape.

Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return to their homes, saying it prefers to do so diplomatically but is willing to use force.

Hezbollah has said it will keep up its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the war nears its anniversary.

Palestinian resistance members stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, causing 1,200 deaths and abducting around 250. Some 100 captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead after most of the rest were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

In comparison, Israel's brutal offensive since has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.