Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have assured the United States that a counterstrike on Iran will be limited to military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

The Israeli government has told the Biden administration that it will avoid striking nuclear enrichment and oil production sites when it makes its initial response to Iran’s recent missile attack, two officials said on Tuesday.

Israel’s military said Thursday it killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, while also announcing a new round of evacuation orders in the Bekaa Valley. The Israel Defense Forces identified the commander killed as Hussein Awada and said he was responsible for firing projectiles across the border into Israel.

Israel's latest bombardment of Hezbollah targets caused widespread destruction in southern Lebanon, ahead of US and Israeli strikes in the wider region Thursday. Hezbollah's main stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs was also targeted by Israeli warplanes and further strikes were reported in Lebanon's south and the Bekaa region in the east.

The strikes came a day after the United States said it had expressed concerns to Israel about its bombardment of the Lebanese capital. Israel’s military said it had aimed at Hezbollah targets.

Thirty-eight NGOs signed a new appeal to the international community to stop Israel's latest military operation in northern Gaza, which they said has "escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity." "Northern Gaza is being wiped off the map,