As tit-for-tat strikes strain a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah less than a week since it went into effect, Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday threatened to directly target the Lebanese state should the agreement fall apart.

Israel hits Lebanon with its largest wave of airstrikes since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, as both sides accuse each other of violations.

Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon, Lebanese authorities said Monday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France came into effect last week.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the deal; Hezbollah fired into Israel for the first time since the truce took effect, and Israel responded with airstrikes.

The Israeli military says Hezbollah has fired into a disputed border zone, its first attack since a ceasefire took hold last week. It comes after Hezbollah accused Israel of violating the truce with airstrikes and shelling in Lebanon.

Israel has been fired upon again from its northern neighbour Lebanon for the first time since the beginning of the ceasefire with the Hezbollah militia, the Israeli military said on Monday. The target of the Hezbollah attack was the Har Dov area directly on the Lebanese border,

Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapses, and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was agreed last week.

Amidst a backdrop of uneasy peace, the skies over Shebaa Farms witness a fresh volley. The delicate truce between Hezbollah and Israel teeters on the brink.

Israel said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in strikes on Lebanon Monday after vowing retaliation for an attack claimed by Hezbollah, the militant group's first since a fragile ceasefire