Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, just as the militant group’s leader said two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies amounted to a declaration of war.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli military reported that its jets had struck hundreds of rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, which were poised to be fired at Israel. The bombardment, consisting of more than 52 strikes, took place over a two-hour period after 9 pm local time, according to Lebanon’s state news agency, NNA.