BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it launched a barrage of rockets at the north Israeli town of Safed on Monday, more than three weeks after Israel intensified its air campaign on Lebanon.
In a statement, Hezbollah confirmed that its fighters fired a “big rocket salvo” targeting Safed, claiming the assault was “in defence of Lebanon” and retaliation for Israeli attacks on Lebanese “cities, villages, and civilians.” The statement indicated that Hezbollah viewed the strike as a necessary action against Israeli aggression.
Following the rocket fire, air raid sirens blared throughout northern and central Israel, prompting millions of Israelis to take shelter, according to the Israeli military. The alarms were set off by projectiles launched from Lebanese territory.
Israeli forces confirmed that three projectiles had entered their airspace but stated that all were intercepted before causing any damage.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets targeted and destroyed the launcher responsible for the attack in Lebanon. The Israeli military reported no casualties in the attack.
The rocket salvo follows a deadly drone strike carried out by Hezbollah on an Israeli military base the previous night, which killed four Israeli soldiers and left dozens injured.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to strike Lebanon without mercy following a drone strike on a military base in Israel.
“We will continue to mercilessly strike all parts of Lebanon – including Beirut. All this according to operational considerations. We have proven it recently and we will continue to prove it in the days to come,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the military base that was hit by the drone strike.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike on northern Lebanon killed 18 people, according to the Lebanese Red Cross, with the health ministry and official media reporting an Israeli raid on the Christian-majority Zgharta district far from Hezbollah strongholds.
“Eighteen dead and four wounded in the strike on Aito,” the Lebanese Red Cross reported, referring to a village in the Christian-majority Zgharta district.
Lebanon’s health ministry had earlier confirmed nine deaths, while Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israel targeted a residential apartment building in the village, far from Hezbollah’s usual strongholds.
The strike comes just two days after an Israeli air raid on Deir Billa, also in northern Lebanon, killed two people and wounded four others.
Since the escalation began on September 23, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it battled Israeli troops in south Lebanon. A drone strike on an Israeli base near Binyamina, south of Haifa, killed four soldiers on Sunday night, while another 60 people were treated for mild to critical injuries, the Israeli volunteer rescue service said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant communicated with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, regarding the drone attack and discussed plans for a “forceful response” against Hezbollah. Just before the drone attack, the Pentagon announced the deployment of a high-altitude anti-missile system, THAAD, to Israel, aimed at bolstering defenses against potential Iranian attacks.
On the same day, Hezbollah claimed to have launched rockets targeting an Israeli naval base near Haifa and reported “violent clashes” in the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, where an Israeli troop carrier was allegedly hit with a guided missile.
The recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified following a year of regular exchanges of fire along the border.
The ongoing hostilities have resulted in a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with the International Organization for Migration reporting approximately 690,000 displaced persons in the country. The Lebanese health ministry has said that the recent escalation has led to the deaths of over 1,300 people since the beginning of the conflict.
Israel’s air strikes have also drawn severe criticism, particularly regarding incidents involving United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. European Union chief Charles Michel condemned attacks on UN missions, calling them “not responsible” and “not acceptable.”
Concerns about a wider regional conflict loom large, with Iranian diplomatic efforts in the region gaining momentum. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently met with officials from Yemen’s Houthi movement in Oman as part of broader diplomatic discussions.
In Gaza, Israeli military actions have resulted in significant casualties, with the health ministry reporting over 42,000 deaths, the majority being women and children, during ongoing Israeli operations. The recent airstrike on the Al-Mufti school, used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, killed 15 people, including women and children.
