Lebanon's government on Monday banned military activities by Hezbollah after it opened fire on Israel to avenge

Israel said it deployed more forces in Lebanon to protect its people, but its military chief said the goal is more ambitious: to disarm Hezbollah. Israel made plans for the incursion well in advance.

By Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell and Jana Choukeir BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 3 (Reuters) - Lebanon was pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East on Tuesday as the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel for a second consecutive day and Israel sent troops into the south and carried out waves of airstrikes.

As Israel intensifies its campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, Lebanon is now teetering on the brink of being fully sucked into the escalating US and Israeli war on Iran – a fate the fragile Lebanese government has been desperate to avoid.

The Israeli military said troops advanced to protect border towns from Hezbollah attacks, spurring fears that the government is weighing a wider ground war.

Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and a nuclear research site, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel.

In the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, Hezbollah opened a new front in the US-Israeli war against Iran when it launched “missiles and a swarm of drones” at a military base in northern Israel.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Wednesday that his Iran‑backed organization has resumed fighting to compel Israel to halt its aggression.