Jawad Rizqallah

Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones at an Israeli missile defense site south of Haifa, calling it retaliation for the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Saturday.

also adding that Israel cannot continue its 15 months of aggression on Lebanon without a response.

Israel's military said it struck senior Hezbollah figures in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

The army chief warned that, quote, any enemy that threatens our security will pay a heavy price.

Residents of Beirut's southern suburbs and the country's south are fleeing by car and on foot amid fears of escalation.

Lebanon's prime minister said the launching of rockets from southern Lebanon is irresponsible and said they provide Israel with a pretext to continue attacks.

Jawad Rizqallah, NPR News, Beirut.

Thousands of black-clad supporters of the militant Iran-backed group gathered in a square in Beirut's southern suburbs.

They chanted that Khamenei was their leader as they beat their chests in mourning.

As Shia Muslims aligned with Hezbollah, many here saw him not only as a powerful political figure, but as their spiritual leader as well.

This part of Beirut is a Hezbollah stronghold, the area where Hezbollah's own leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike a year and a half ago.

A few buildings here still lie in ruins from the war with Israel.

Some in Lebanon now fear that war could resume if Hezbollah chooses to defend Iran.

But for now, party loyalists are merely mourning.

Jawad Rizqallah, NPR News, Beirut.