Hezbollah responded to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Thursday with what the Israeli military called Hezbollah’s most serious rocket and drone attack in more than eight months of hostilities.
It was the second consecutive day of intensifying attacks in a conflict that has raised fears of a full-blown war, even as Israel continues to press ahead with its military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It is not yet clear how many weapons Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian-backed militia and political faction, launched into Israel on Thursday. But the group’s Al-Manar television channel reported that at one point more than 100 people were shot in a coordinated attack targeting several Israeli military installations. The assault included a number of drones targeting Israel’s northern military headquarters, Hezbollah said.
The Israeli military said in the afternoon that Hezbollah had sent more than 40 rockets across the border, but the barrage continued well into the evening. Hours later, Israel had not updated the figure, but a military spokesman called it Hezbollah’s most serious attack since October. He did not immediately elaborate.
At least four people were injured in Thursday’s assault, according to the Israeli army and its emergency service, Magen David Adom. The army said in the afternoon that its air defenses had shot down many weapons fired so far, but that some had penetrated.
The attacks sparked wildfires on both sides of the border, where more than 150,000 people have fled their homes due to almost daily strikes by Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike targeted and killed Taleb Abdallah, one of Hezbollah’s top commanders, prompting the group to step up attacks against Israel in retaliation. On Wednesday, it fired more than 200 rockets at Israel, according to the Israeli military, but they caused minimal damage.
The Israeli army said Thursday that its fighter jets struck “Hezbollah military structures” in Lebanese border villages overnight.
Israeli officials have threatened with stronger action against Hezbollah, and pressure to do so – from the political right and displaced civilians – has increased. But so far, both sides have remained well short of all-out war.
The United States, France and other mediators, warning of the danger of regional war, have sought to advance a diplomatic settlement between Israel and Hezbollah that could restore calm on both sides of the border. But analysts say the likelihood of a deal is low as long as Israel’s campaign in Gaza persists.
On Thursday, residents of southern Gaza reported intense shelling by the Israeli army.
Saeed Lulu, who was sheltering in the southern region of Al-Mawasi – parts of which Israel has designated a “humanitarian zone” for civilians – said he heard strikes between midnight and 6 a.m. The attacks, he said, appeared to affect the southwest. edge of Al-Mawasi.
“We are very worried,” said Mr. Lulu, 37. “This is supposed to be a safe zone, and we have nowhere else to go if they attack here.”
Wafa, the official Palestinian Authority news agency, reported that Israel had intensified its missile and artillery strikes on Al-Mawasiwhere many Gazans sought refuge, heeding Israeli warnings to flee the area around Rafah, where hundreds of thousands had sought refuge earlier in the war.
The Israeli army denied Wafa’s report, saying it had not attacked the “humanitarian zone” of Al-Mawasi and was continuing its operations in Rafah, where its soldiers were engaged in “face-to-face encounters”. face to face.” with Hamas militants.
Fighting in Rafah has raged since early May, when Israeli soldiers began their advance toward the heart of the city, which Israel called a critical step to defeating Hamas’s remaining battalions and dismantling the group’s infrastructure.
Israel said it did not attack areas designated as safe zones and that it made clear where those areas were by posting maps on social media and dropping leaflets in Gaza.
But aid workers noted that Gazans have limited access to cell phones and the internet. Some residents said they had never seen the leaflets, while others said the numbering system the Israeli military used to demarcate “humanitarian zones” was confusing.
John Reiss And Michael Levenson reports contributed.
