Israel vowed it would make Iran "pay" for the attack, which it said saw 180 missiles fired at its territory, most of them intercepted by air defenses.

The US president indicated Monday that he was opposed to Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, calling for a ceasefire as tensions spiralled after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Netanyahu, speaking in English in a 3-minute-long video released by his office in which he said he was addressing the Iranian people, blamed the Iranian government for plunging the Middle East "deeper into war" at the cost of its own people.

The military said in a statement that it had begun "limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence" against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon villages close to the border that posed "an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel".

Austin also issued a warning to Iran of "serious consequences" should it directly attack Israel in response to their attacks on the Tehran-backed militant group.

"The region, the world are safer without him," Antony Blinken said, even as he insisted that "diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East" and vowed the United States would continue working "urgently" to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The past year has seen repeated accusations from within the UN system that Israel is committing "genocide" in its war in Gaza, while Israeli officials have made charges of bias and have even accused the UN chief of being "an accomplice to terror".

"His body was recovered on Saturday and was placed in a shroud on Sunday after being washed," the source said, requesting anonymity.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular left-wing group, said three of its members were killed in Monday's strike on Beirut's Kola district.

Indonesian delegates staged a walkout along with representatives from other countries as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), amid international condemnation of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,586 people in Gaza, most of them civilians.

At least 70 Indonesian citizens, most of whom are students or those married to Lebanese nationals, refuse to be evacuated from Lebanon, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut, despite the intensifying Israeli forces' attacks on the country.

Israeli bombing of Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon has killed hundreds of people this week, while the militant group has retaliated with rocket barrages.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands have been displaced since Israel launched its strikes, with the Lebanese health ministry saying that another 72 people died on Wednesday.

Indonesia strongly condemned Israel's recent deadly attacks on Lebanon that have killed more than 500 people, including 50 children, and wounded thousands of others, while pushing for the safety of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which includes 1,232 Indonesian military personnel.

"It is the first time ever a Hezbollah missile reached (the) Tel Aviv area. It was intercepted by IDF (the Israeli military)," an army spokesman told AFP. 

Lebanese officials said hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in the south this week to avoid fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

The UN General Assembly, the high point of the international diplomatic calendar, comes after Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes had killed 558 people -- 50 of them children.

Qatar Airways, the national flag-carrier which operates two flights a day to the Lebanese capital, cancelled services on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Israel's military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group which Lebanese authorities said killed nearly 500 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety. 

"I can say we are almost in a full-fledged war," Borrell said ahead of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

Hezbollah rocket fire reached Kiryat Bialik near north Israel's largest city Haifa, leaving a building in flames, another pockmarked with shrapnel and vehicles incinerated.

"Due to the unpredictable nature of ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut, the US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available," the State Department said in an updated advisory.

Lebanese group Hezbollah has exchanged regular fire with Israeli forces throughout the Gaza war, but the cross-border violence has intensified in recent days.

Ibrahim Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, headed the Iran-backed militant group's elite Radwan Force.

Hundreds have been killed in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens in Israel, including soldiers.

“The resolution supports the [International Court of Justice (ICJ)] advisory opinion that deemed Israel’s continued, prolonged and illegal occupation of Palestine unlawful,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement on Thursday.

The newspaper cited top-level officials in the White House, State Department and Pentagon without naming them. Those bodies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said this week it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, and that Budapest-based company BAC to which the pagers were traced has a license to use its brand.

The US airline joins a host of other airlines that have cancelled or suspended flights in recent days to cities in the region including Beirut and Tehran, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.