Israel launched an intense barrage of airstrikes across swathes of Lebanon on Monday in what was the deadliest day for the country since at least the 2006 war fought between Israel and the powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel launched airstrikes on targets across southern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people in one of the deadliest days of fighting in nearly two decades and fanning fears of all-out war.

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, September 23,

Israel carried out more air strikes on Hezbollah targets in its heaviest and deadliest bombardment on Lebanon since 2006, when the two sides fought a devastating war.

The Israeli military launched dozens more airstrikes following the worst bout of bloodshed between Israel and Hezbollah since their monthlong conflict in 2006.