BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it launched rockets at a defence company in northern Israel Saturday, the latest attacks after Israel intensified its bombing campaign last week, nearly a year into cross-border clashes with the group.
The Lebanese group said in a statement that it launched “a rocket salvo” towards a “military industries company” east of Acre.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah fighters are confronting Israeli troops in Lebanon’s southern border region, where the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah fighters inside a mosque.
Rapidly escalating violence in recent days saw intense Israeli strikes across Lebanon as ground troops conducted raids near the border, transforming nearly a year of cross-border fire exchanges into full-blown war.
Israeli forces conducted a series of airstrikes across Lebanon, including targeting a mosque in the town of Bint Jbeil, near the border. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating that Hezbollah fighters were using the mosque as a command center. The military also reported killing 250 Hezbollah fighters in border clashes over the past week.
The violence has spread beyond the southern border, with Israeli air raids reaching as far north as Tripoli, where Palestinian group Hamas confirmed that a commander, Saeed Attallah Ali, along with his wife and two daughters, were killed in the Beddawi refugee camp. This marked the first Israeli strike on the northern region since the conflict intensified.
Israel’s military aggression and Hezbollah’s increased rocket fire, coupled with Iran’s missile strikes on Israel, has plunged the region into deeper chaos.
Earlier this week, Iran launched its second-ever missile attack on Israel, in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who died in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on September 27. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a rare public address, vowed that regional resistance movements would not back down despite these “martyrdoms.”
As the conflict rages on, civilians on both sides of the border have borne the brunt of the violence. In Beirut, widespread displacement has affected hundreds of thousands of residents, with many fleeing their homes to seek shelter elsewhere. Ibrahim Nazzal, one of those displaced by the violence, voiced his frustrations: “We want the war to stop… all our homes are gone.”
The Lebanese capital has seen continuous Israeli airstrikes, with more than a dozen reported overnight in the city’s southern suburbs. Israeli forces have also bombarded Hezbollah positions in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing over 1,110 people since the fighting escalated on September 23, according to Lebanese sources. Hezbollah claimed to have targeted Israel’s Ramat David airbase, located 45 kilometers from the border, in a rocket attack.
The conflict has also had severe implications for Lebanon’s healthcare system. Israeli bombardments have rendered at least four hospitals out of service. On Friday, the first delivery of medical aid organized by the United Nations arrived at Beirut airport. The state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on Friday cut off the main international road to Syria, hampering efforts by civilians to seek refuge.
As Israel considers its response to Iran’s missile attack, tensions are high in the region. The attack caused damage to the Nevatim airbase in southern Israel. US President Joe Biden, while warning against strikes on Iranian oil facilities, has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security, saying the US is working to prevent the conflict from spreading further.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during his visit to Damascus on Saturday called for an immediate end to hostilities, particularly in Lebanon and Gaza. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hailed the Iranian missile attack as a “strong response” that taught Israel a lesson.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has urged all parties to adhere to Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon. Despite an Israeli request for UN peacekeepers to relocate amid ground incursions, the UN has maintained its positions in southern Lebanon.
