Israel resumed heavy strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas Tuesday as its troops advanced into southern Lebanon.

Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and told residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the U.

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.

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.

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.

The State Department urged Americans to immediately leave 14 countries, and closed U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait after they were hit by drones. Israel’s military said it had seized new areas of Lebanon in its conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

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.

Israeli strike hits Hezbollah-aligned media building in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning.