BEIRUT: Israel launched heavy strikes across southern Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday after Hezbollah fired a rocket barrage targeting an Israeli army base east of the northern town of Safed.
Israeli officials said that a strike on a Hezbollah command center and underground weapons facility in Beirut took place early Sunday.
Lebanese media reported extensive destruction after the Israeli military struck Haret Hreik and Hadath in southern Beirut. Civilians were ordered to evacuate the targeted neighborhoods. The strikes on Lebanon are part of Israel’s escalated offensive.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, a devastating Israeli strike on the northern town of Beit Lahiya left 87 people dead or missing under rubble. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Israeli air strikes also killed 35 Palestinians elsewhere in the enclave on Sunday.
Medics in Gaza said the strikes hit a multi-story building, damaging surrounding homes and leaving scores injured. Meanwhile, rescue operations were hampered by widespread telecommunication and internet outages.
Gaza has been subjected to relentless Israeli bombardment since October 7, 2023. The territory’s health ministry reports that at least 42,519 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes. The United Nations considers these figures reliable, and humanitarian concerns are mounting over the civilian toll.
In Gaza, civil defence officials said over 400 bodies have been recovered in areas heavily targeted by Israeli strikes, including Jabalia and its refugee camp.
The conflict has also intensified across the Lebanese border, where Israeli troops have engaged in targeted raids and bombings of Hezbollah positions.
According to Lebanese state media, Israeli warplanes struck more than 50 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including heavy bombardment in Nabatiyeh, where ongoing air strikes have already killed several people this week.
The National News Agency of Lebanon reported that Israeli forces had booby-trapped and demolished sections of Mais Al-Jabal, a village near the border, and bulldozed a cemetery in the nearby town of Blida.
Lebanese officials reported at least 1,454 people have been killed in the ongoing Israeli strikes since late September.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it launched a large-scale rocket attack on Sunday, targeting an Israeli army base east of the northern town of Safed.
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Hezbollah fighters fired “a big rocket salvo” at an Israeli military base east of Safed, the Lebanese group said, adding the attack was “in defence of Lebanon” and “in response to the Israeli attacks on villages and homes”.
The Israeli military confirmed that approximately 70 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory in just a few minutes. While some of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems, sirens rang out in the Western Galilee and Upper Galilee areas between 11:09 a.m. and 11:12 a.m. local time, alerting residents to the attack.
Hezbollah’s latest assault follows its Thursday’s announcement of a new “escalatory phase” in its conflict with Israel. Tensions have soared along the Israel-Lebanon border, with increased Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israel launched strikes on Beirut. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli airstrikes hit a residential building in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, south of the Lebanese capital, near a mosque and a hospital.
These attacks followed accusations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed that Hezbollah had attempted to assassinate him by targeting his residence.
“The attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement, vowing that “anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price.”
