Israel and Hezbollah were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon on Wednesday across steep, unforgiving terrain.

The conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza threaten to spiral into a regional war. Iran’s firing of around 180 missiles at Israel on October 1st did relatively little damage owing to Israel’s missile-defence systems and American military assistance. Just one person died, in the West Bank, from falling shrapnel.

The Lebanese health minister stated in a press briefing that the death toll had quickly increased to more than 270, including 21 children and 31 women. In all, 1,024 people were hurt. Israel's military claims it struck more than 300 Hezbollah targets.

Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon comes after over a week of intense air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s strongholds in the country. Southern Lebanon has been most affected, with strikes also targeting the eastern Bekaa Valley and in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israel said on Wednesday eight of its soldiers were killed in combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbour in a campaign against the Hezbollah armed group. The losses were the deadliest suffered by the Israeli military on the Lebanon front in the past year of border-area clashes between Israel and its Iranian-backed Lebanese foe.

The Israeli military struck the Lebanese capital, marking a gradual expansion of what it says are strikes targeting Hezbollah there, as its forces fight with the militant group in the country’s south.

Lebanese officials say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks