"A plume of smoke rose over southern Lebanon on Monday as tensions escalated between Hezbollah and Israel. Footage shows damaged houses and burnt trees in the surrounding areas, as well as Israeli military presence near the borders. According to Israeli figures, at least 19 Israelis have been reported dead since the start of the conflict, including two soldiers killed by Hezbollah, with nearly 3,000 injured and widespread property damage. Lebanon, meanwhile, reported 850 dead and more than 2,100 injured. It comes after a joint US-Israeli operation against Iranian targets started on February 28 amid diplomatic talks aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and US military positions in the region, with explosions reported across Gulf countries. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead on the first day, and his son Mojtaba Khamenei was later named as successor. The fighting drew in Lebanon's Hezbollah, which said its actions were 'defensive' and a response to Israel's killing of Khamenei. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed the army would 'destroy the terrorist infrastructure' of the group, 'exactly as was done against Hamas in Gaza'."