BEIRUT: Israel struck Lebanon on Saturday in retaliation for rockets targeting Israel, in the heaviest exchange of fire since the ceasefire.

Earlier, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel for the second time since December, sparking concern about whether the fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would hold.

Israel's Prime Minister's office said Saturday it instructed the army to act forcefully against dozens of targets in Lebanon.

Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into an all-out war in September as Israel carried out massive waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant group's senior leaders. The fighting killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis.