The military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is intensifying, with both declaring themselves ready for war.
Hezbollah has launched one of its largest rocket barrages on northern Israel since the start of the war on Gaza.
The launch of nearly 100 projectiles on Wednesday morning took place in response to the assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon the previous evening. The attacks raise concerns about the escalation of the military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, with both saying they are ready for war.
The Israeli military confirmed that at least 90 rockets were fired from Lebanese territory as sirens sounded in dozens of communities in the country’s north. Many people were intercepted, but several landed, causing fires. No casualties have been reported.
Aerial footage of Israeli military planes attacking what the army said was the rocket launch site in Yaroun, southern Lebanon, was later released.
Dozens of rockets have been launched from Lebanon since this morning, with sirens sounding as far south as Tiberias and east of Haifa. Impacts were reported in several areas, a factory was hit in Sasa and a fire broke out following the fall of a missile south of Safed. pic.twitter.com/OiN3s5yU33
– Ali Hachem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) June 12, 2024
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based armed group with ties to Iran, confirmed in a statement Wednesday that Taleb Abdullah had been killed in an airstrike hours earlier on the town of Jouaiyya.
Abdullah, also known as Hajj Abu Taleb, was reportedly the commander of a Hezbollah division covering the western sector of the front line between the border with Israel and the Litani River.
He is only the second member killed since October 7 to be mourned as Hezbollah commander. The other was Wissam al-Tawildeputy head of the elite Radwan unit, killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in January.
The armed group also confirmed the deaths of three other members in the Israeli airstrike on Tuesday evening.
The escalation of attacks comes after Israel and Hezbollah both expressed readiness to expand their military confrontation as the war in Gaza escalates tensions.
So far, fighting on the ground has been limited to border skirmishes. But Hezbollah is trying to challenge Israel’s air superiority over Lebanese skies.
The group released images on Tuesday showing the downing of a third Israeli-made Hermes 900 reconnaissance and attack drone over Lebanon, using a surface-to-air missile.
This week, it fired several missiles at Israeli warplanes in an attempt to repel them.
The Israeli military confirmed the incidents, saying no damage was caused to its planes.
On Tuesday evening, the Israeli army announced that it had attacked an area in southern Lebanon from where Hezbollah was preparing a launch.
He also confirmed that 15 rockets were launched by the armed group, some of which were reportedly intercepted while others landed in open areas.
The Israeli army continues to shell areas across the Gaza Strip with no immediate sign of an end to the war.
Hamas said it presented his response to the latest ceasefire proposal to mediators, which will also include a prisoner exchange and a plan to rebuild the enclave.
