TEL AVIV/BEIRUT   -   Israel may respond to Iran’s major Tuesday ballistic missile attack by striking strategic infrastructure, such as gas or oil rigs, or by directly targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, media reports said on Wednesday, citing Israeli officials.

Targeted assassinations and attacks on Iran’s air defense systems are also possible responses, Axios reported.

An attack on Iranian oil facilities could devastate the country’s economy, and any of the considered responses could mark another escalation, almost one year into the ongoing war that began when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel in October 2023.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have engaged in fighting on the ground in southern Lebanon, both have confirmed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has had “close-range engagements,” destroyed more than 150 “terrorist infrastructure sites,” and “eliminated terrorists” in southern Lebanon in a post on X.

Hezbollah spokesperson Mohamed Afif told reporters in Beirut that the Iran-backed group clashed with Israeli forces in Aadeyseh. In a separate statement it said clashes are ongoing with Israeli soldiers in the southern Lebanese village of Maroun Al-Ras.

The Israeli military has not commented on the Hezbollah claim. The IDF spokesperson has implored people “not to share reports about the activities of the forces, due to the security of our forces. Stick to the official reports only and do not spread irresponsible rumors.”

The Israeli military announced the deaths of seven additional Israeli soldiers who were killed in combat in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, bringing the total toll since the offensive began to eight.

The Israel Defense Forces said an officer and four soldiers from the Egoz Unit were “severely injured.”

The IDF did not say which areas in southern Lebanon the soldiers were killed. In addition to the Egoz Unit, the soldiers served in the Golani Brigade and the Yahalom Unit. Earlier Wednesday, the IDF announced the death of another soldier.

Hezbollah said in separate statements that it had targeted Israeli forces in three different villages in southern Lebanon.  The Lebanese army has said that an Israeli force breached 400 meters (about a quarter mile) in Lebanon and withdrew shortly after.

Several Iranian missiles struck Israeli military bases on Tuesday night, an Israeli military source told CNN, but insisted there was no major damage to the facilities.

“There is no harm to the functionality of the IAF (Israeli Air Force),” the source said.

The source said there were “a few hits,” but that they failed to hit “essential infrastructure.”

US President Joe Biden says he does not support a retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program.

“The answer is no,” Biden responds when asked whether he backs such a prospect.

“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us (G7 nations) agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond proportionally,” Biden tells reporters before boarding Air Force One.

Israeli strikes in recent weeks have destroyed about 50% of Hezbollah’s arsenal, a formidable collection of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as rockets, according to senior US and Israeli officials.

Multiple officials described the organization as “decapitated” after a series of Israeli operations decimated Hezbollah’s leadership structure, including a covert operation that caused dozens of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon to explode and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.

“The most important thing that we did was to try to take out about half of the missile and rocket capability that have been built up over the last 30 years with Iran,” a senior Israeli official said. “And we did.”

Three civilians were killed and three others were wounded in an Israeli strike in the Mezzah neighborhood of Damascus on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA said, citing a military source.

The strike targeted a residential building and caused damage to private properties nearby, SANA added.

Asked about reports of the strike, the Israeli military told CNN that it does not comment on foreign reports.

The purported strike comes after SANA reported that three people were killed, including a Syrian TV journalist, in another Israeli strike on Damascus overnight Tuesday. The Israeli military declined to comment on that incident.