Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah members blew up nearly simultaneously in an attack that tops a series of covert assassinations and cyber-attacks in the region.

Lebanon blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah's devices killed 37 and wounded around 3,000, wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.