Amid fears of an expanding war in the Middle East following mass detonations of bombs surreptitiously planted in Hezbollah communication devices, Israel continued its assault of the Iran-backed militia overnight.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded blows in recent days, as the conflict has escalated with few off-ramps in sight to avoid total war.

Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets Friday, a day after the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.