Hezbollah and Israel have traded blows in recent days, as the conflict has escalated with few off-ramps in sight to avoid total war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets Friday, a day after the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.

The unprecedented attack, followed by explosions of walkie-talkies, comes after Israeli officials warned about escalating tensions on the Lebanese border.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as "rugged," contains a rechargeable lithium battery and could receive texts of up to 100 characters. It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life, crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages are commonplace following years of economic collapse.