Hezbollah says group will fight on

Lebanese officials have said at least 45 people died in a town near the southern city of Sidon following an Israeli strike there on Sunday.

In a statement, the Health Ministry in Beirut said: "45 dead and 70 wounded in an updated toll for the Israeli enemy attack on Ain al-Delb," following a building collapse.

The ministry said a total of 105 people were killed in strikes on Sunday, which also targeted the northern province of Baalbek Hermel and Beirut itself.

The Lebanese government said it expected the death toll to rise, as several residential buildings had been hit.

Hezbollah deputy leader vows to fight on

Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general and now acting leader, Naim Kassem, said in televised remarks that the group would soon elect a new head following the death of leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Blaming Israel for a recent spate of attacks on Hezbollah leadership, he maintained that the violence had done little to dent the organization's power structure.

"Israel was not able to affect our [military] capabilities," Kassem said. "There are deputy commanders and there are replacements in case a commander is wounded in any post."

Hezbollah's longtime leader Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.

In his first speech since the killing, Kassem said the militant group was continuing its operations as usual and would be prepared if Israel decides to launch a ground invasion of Lebanon.

"We know the battle could be long, and we are ready for any possibility. If Israel decides to launch a ground invasion, we are ready for a ground engagement," Kassem said.

European Union plans emergency talks on Lebanon

EU foreign ministers are set to hold an emergency summit on the increasing violence in Lebanon, said a spokesman for the bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

The video meeting planned for Monday afternoon would "discuss the EU's response to the latest escalation in Lebanon."

Europe and other international powers have been scrambling to contain the conflict between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah before it descends into an all-out war. However, over the past year, the 27-member EU has struggled to present a unified response to the conflict in the Middle East or exert much influence on the Israeli government.

Source: DW