Turkey on Thursday accused Israel of seeking to expand the war in Gaza to Lebanon with the "alarming" wave of deadly explosions that swept though Hezbollah strongholds.

The wave of exploding electronic devices used by Hezbollah members could be a prelude to a wider attack by Israel.

Lebanon’s death toll from a series of walkie-talkie and pager explosions this week rose to 37, according to local authorities, an illustration of the devastation wrought by a wave of suspected Israeli attacks against Hezbollah militants.

Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said.

Hezbollah's leader says the mass explosions in Lebanon on the group's communications devices was a "severe blow" and said Israel has crossed a "red line."

Israeli forces late Thursday carried out their most intense strike on southern Lebanon in nearly one year of war, increasing tensions between the two countries despite international calls for calm. In the operation,