The death toll from the Israeli air strike that targeted Hezbollah military commanders in Beirut's southern suburbs and killed scores of civilians this week has risen to 45, Lebanon's health ministry said Sunday.

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon warned Sunday of an "imminent catastrophe" in the Middle East amid spiking violence between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, saying a military solution was not the answer.

The Israeli military said more than 100 projectiles were fired early Sunday from Lebanon, forcing hundreds of thousands to take cover and prompting school closures in Israel's north.

The military said that "approximately 20 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon" shortly before 5:00 am (0200 GMT), followed by a barrage of "approximately 85 projectiles" launched from Lebanon after 6:00 am (0300 GMT).

Hezbollah said it targeted military production facilities and an air base in northern Israel on Sunday in an "initial response" to the pager and walkie-talkies explosions and in response to Israeli attacks that killed civilians in various parts of Lebanon.

"In an initial response" to the explosions of pagers and two-way radios on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hezbollah "bombed the Rafael military industry complexes" north of Haifa with "dozens" of Katyusha, Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 rockets, the group said.

The Israeli military said dozens of warplanes were striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon late Saturday, as cross-border exchanges intensify amid growing fears of all-out war.

Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes on areas across south Lebanon and West Bekaa on Saturday, as Hezbollah rockets targeted north Israel and reached Safad.

Hezbollah said it fired salvos of Katyusha rockets at five Israeli military positions in northern Israel and another in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, as the Israeli army said it was striking “Hezbollah targets” in south Lebanon.

A former Lebanese diplomat accused of being a financier for Hezbollah has pleaded guilty to evading U.S. financial sanctions against him and his organization, branded as "terrorist" by the U.S. government.

Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., has said that the UK is working to de-escalate and end the cycle of violence in Middle East, during a U.N. Security Council meeting on the latest developments in the region.

"This past year has seen continuous and devastating violence across the region. Civilians have suffered on a dreadful scale on both sides of the Blue Line. The explosions in Lebanon this week and Israel’s strike in southern Beirut today are the latest in a deadly cycle of violence, and we are deeply concerned by civilian casualties resulting from those incidents. That children were among them is particularly distressing. Our condolences go to the families of the civilians killed," Kariuki said.

Iran's foreign ministry has condemned an Israeli air strike in Beirut's southern suburbs that killed a top commander of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah and several others as an attempt to broaden the war in Gaza.

The United Nations said Friday the detonation of hand-held communication devices in Lebanon could constitute a war crime as Lebanon's top diplomat accused Israel of orchestrating what he called a "terror" attack.