Hezbollah unleashed one of the most intense rocket attacks since hostilities intensified in September on Sunday, launching some 250 rockets across the border from Lebanon into Israel.
According to Israeli authorities, the strikes seriously damaged and injured locations in northern and central Israel, including those close to Tel Aviv.
According to the report, rockets struck areas in Kfar Blum, Haifa, Nahariya, and Petah Tikva. Some rockets made direct strikes, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), engulfing houses in flames and neighborhoods in ruins.
The escalation comes after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday that killed 29 people in central Beirut, according to the Lebanese health ministry. This year, it was one of the bloodiest attacks in the area.
Hezbollah, which had threatened to strike back against attacks on Beirut, took credit for firing precision missiles at two military installations in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area.
The IDF retaliated by attacking 12 Hezbollah command centers in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The number of people killed by Saturday’s Israeli strikes increased from 20 to 29, according to Lebanon’s health ministry on Sunday. Since October 2023, the country has seen over 3,670 fatalities and 15,400 injuries, and the conflict has caused over a million people to be displaced.
Authorities in Israel estimate that about 60,000 people have had to leave northern villages as a result of Hezbollah’s attacks.
There are signs of progress toward a ceasefire despite the escalating bloodshed. Israel has granted the “green light” to move forward with a ceasefire agreement that the United States has offered with Lebanon, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan. There are allegedly still a lot of unanswered questions in the negotiations, though.
After months of growing tensions along its northern border, Israel has stepped up its military operation against Hezbollah.
Neutralizing Hezbollah’s capabilities and ensuring the safe return of displaced Israelis to their homes are the operation’s declared objectives.
