Israeli jets on Thursday struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon following a larger-than-usual rocket attack by the group, accelerating fears of an all-out war despite US warnings.
The Israeli military said that its air force struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southeast Lebanon’s Deir Seryan. Earlier, the Israeli military said Hezbollah launched 40 projectiles toward northern Israel. Some were intercepted, but others landed and caused fires, the military said in statements.
Hezbollah said it targeted six Israeli military sites with missiles and three other bases with explosive-laden drones. The strikes, which Hezbollah said hit their targets, were in “response to the assassination” carried out on Tuesday, the group’s Al-Manar news outlet reported.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah, the highest-ranking official killed since the start of the hostilities on Oct. 7. The attack prompted Hezbollah to fire more than 215 rockets toward Israel on Wednesday.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Deir Seryan as well as Qotrani further north, causing a fire in the latter. The agency additionally reported Israeli shelling outside of Chebaa, close to the Israeli border.
In a widely shared video on social media, Israeli forces were seen using a catapult to launch fireballs into Lebanon.
ISRAEL: Soldiers using a flaming trebuchet to launch fireballs into Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/qa2TUBMMt3
— bnm IntelliNews (@BNMIntelliNews) June 13, 2024
Israeli media reported that two people were injured in the rocket fire on Thursday.
Why it matters: Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in nearly nonstop cross-border exchanges since the Gaza war began last October, but the situation has escalated in recent weeks, leading to increased US concerns about an all-out war between the two. The Biden administration has been engaged in backchannel diplomacy as it seeks to avert a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Iran-backed group has stepped up its use of drones in the past weeks, and Agence France-Presse called Thursday’s strikes Hezbollah’s “largest simultaneous attack” since the conflict began.
While meeting in Italy, the Group of Seven (G7) leaders are worried about the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a draft statement to be released later.
More than 90,000 people in southern Lebanon and 60,000 in northern Israel have been displaced by the fighting, according to reports.
Know more: Israeli tanks advanced deeper into southern Gaza’s Rafah on Thursday following a night of heavy bombardment, Reuters reported, citing local residents. The Israeli military said it was continuing “intelligence-based, targeted operations” against Hamas in the area, according to the outlet.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again visited the region this week as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reach a cease-fire in the conflict. The diplomat told reporters in Doha on Wednesday that Hamas responded to the latest US-backed cease-fire proposal with “numerous changes,” raising concerns that a deal will not get done.
