It has been a devastating week for Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon.

Bombs hidden in the group's pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands — many of them Hezbollah members. Israeli strikes on Beirut killed two of Hezbollah's top commanders. And Israel has bombed what it said were 1,600 militant sites across large parts of Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands.

Fadi, a type of rocket used for the first time by Hezbollah against Israel, has more explosive power and range than rockets deployed previously, but lacks precision, experts say.

Some hawkish Israeli generals think that Hezbollah can be forced to back down, current and former Israeli officials told The New York Times, while others in the government think Israel must reach a deal with Hamas before expanding the war.

Hezbollah said Tuesday that it targeted a military base in north Israel near Safed twice with salvos of rockets, as Israel pounded Lebanon with air strikes, saying it was targeting the Iran-backed group.

"In defense of Lebanon and its people", Hezbollah targeted "the Dado base" near north Israel's Safed -- the headquarters of the Israeli military's northern command -- with a total of 90 rockets, the Iran-backed group said in two separate statements.

Israel is not eager for a ground invasion of Lebanon, the country's ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said, as Israel carried out deadly strikes on its northern neighbor.

"We had experience in Lebanon in the past. We are not eager to start any ground invasion anywhere," Danon said Tuesday as intensified Israeli strikes stoked fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

Israel's defense minister has accused U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of failing to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel after the U.N. chief said Lebanon was becoming a "nightmare" like Gaza following Israeli air strikes.

"Mr Secretary General, the nightmare you speak of, is in fact a reality," Yoav Gallant said in a response to Guterres on X, adding "the reality is that Hezbollah has taken Lebanon hostage, and the U.N. is neither acknowledging their actions, nor fulfilling its fundamental obligation -- preventing Hezbollah attacks and demanding the implementation of Resolution 1701".

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday on the escalating violence in Lebanon, said Slovenia's mission to the U.N., which holds the rotating presidency of the council.

"After consulting with the delegations... the Presidency intends to schedule the briefing on the situation in Lebanon for tomorrow, Wednesday September 25 at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT)," the mission said Tuesday, adding that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would speak at the meeting.

Caretaker foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib has voiced disappointment in President Joe Biden's remarks on the Middle East at the United Nations and expressed hope for greater U.S. diplomacy.

"It was not strong, it is not promising, and it would not solve the Lebanese problem," Bou Habib, who was attending the UN General Assembly Tuesday, told an event of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Britain's foreign ministry said late Tuesday that it was sending military teams to Cyprus as it prepares "contingency plans" for its citizens in Lebanon as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah rages.

"Around 700 UK troops will move to Cyprus in the coming hours," the ministry said, urging British nationals to "leave Lebanon immediately".

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on his Iranian counterpart to use his influence to reduce soaring tensions in Lebanon, the Elysee said.

Meeting President Masoud Pezeshkian, Macron "highlighted the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and use its influence with destabilizing actors," an Elysee statement said, in a clear reference to Iranian-backed Hezbollah.