Jerusalem/Beirut: Hezbollah fired 75 rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday morning, sparking fires and prompting authorities to instruct tens of thousands of residents to remain indoors.
The Israeli military said the rockets targeted the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. “Some of the projectiles were intercepted, while the remainder landed in open areas,” the military said, adding that no injuries were reported.
In retaliation, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes, which the military said targeted one of the launchers used in the attack.
Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services were dispatched to extinguish fires in several locations in the north. Local authorities urged residents to stay close to shelters, avoid driving, and refrain from gatherings and outdoor activities. These precautions were issued in coordination with the military.
The rocket fire followed Israeli airstrikes on Monday evening that targeted Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, according to a statement from Hezbollah, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that nine people, including three Syrians, were injured in the Israeli strike on Monday.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border have been escalating since Oct. 8, 2023, after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas’s attack the previous day. Israel responded with heavy artillery fire toward southeastern Lebanon.
The situation worsened following an Israeli strike in Beirut, which killed a senior Hezbollah military commander, Fouad Shokor, and seven civilians. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah vowed a “definite and painful” response at a time and place of the group’s choosing.
–IANS