Hezbollah admits Israel dealt a severe blow with exploding pagers and walkie talkies, but neither side seems to heed U.S. calls to avoid a wider war.

Deadly Israeli attacks that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers crossed all red lines, the leader of the heavily armed Iran-backed Lebanese movement said on Thursday, in a speech broadcast as sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook buildings in Beirut.

Israel has responded to Hezbollah's attacks with strikes in southern Lebanon, and has struck senior figures from the group in the capital Beirut. The exchanges have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents on each side of the border.