JERUSALEM (AP) — With Israel’s defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Hezbollah threatened Israel after thousands of its members’ pagers exploded across Lebanon, killing 12. Israel has not commented on whether it was responsible.

Israel says that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the north in order to allow its residents to return is now an official war goal as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon

Hezbollah utilizes pagers to bypass Israeli surveillance, as they pose lower interception risks. Recent explosions in Lebanon, likely caused by sabotaged devices, resulted in casualties and heightened tensions,