BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- Israeli forces escalated their assault on Lebanon on Tuesday, with airstrikes, drone attacks, and ground operations killing and wounding dozens as terrorist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “further step on the gas” against the country.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least six people and wounded 17 on Tuesday alone. 
In the Nabatieh area, an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle killed two 17-year-olds, Hussein Shakroun and Ahmad Roumani. The Israeli military also bombed a truck in Nabatieh, killing four more people.
A massive explosion rocked the Tyre area near the village of Masha al-Mansouri on Tuesday morning, with Lebanon blaming the blast on Israeli military action.
 Israeli forces also demolished several homes in the town of Khiam, setting nearby agricultural fields ablaze, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Netanyahu issued a video statement Tuesday evening, declaring Israel “is at war with Hezbollah” and ordering the military to intensify strikes. The terrorist Israeli military announced new airstrikes targeting Hezbollah “infrastructure” in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
The escalation comes as cross-border attacks intensify. Hezbollah has fired over 1000 drones and 700 rockets at Israeli occupied territories in the past eight days, according to Israeli figures, with Israeli military casualties mounting from drone attacks. 
On Tuesday, a Hezbollah drone armed with explosives struck a building in the border town of Metula.
The fresh attacks mark another violation of the ceasefire agreements that were repeatedly extended but have failed to halt Israeli military operations. 
Since fighting resumed on March 2, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 2,496 people and wounded 7,725, according to Lebanese health authorities. 
Israeli forces continue to occupy areas of southern Lebanon, demolishing homes and expanding their military footprint.
The White House has reportedly signaled it may support even larger Israeli military aggression in Lebanon. Meanwhile, over 1.2 million Lebanese civilians have been displaced, and the UN has repeatedly warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.