Insurgents say they have fired dozens of rockets into the Israeli village of Meron after five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel amid growing concerns about regional escalation after an Israeli airstrike the day before killed at least five people, including three members of the group, in southern Lebanon. announced that it had been fired.
Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian organization Hamas, and Israel have exchanged fire almost daily across the border since Israel launched a brutal war in Gaza on October 7 following deadly attacks inside Israel. continues.
Hezbollah said on Sunday that it had fired “dozens of Katyusha-type rockets” into the Israeli village of Meron, eight kilometers from the border, in the morning. Meron is home to a major air traffic control base and has been targeted several times by Iranian-backed groups since the beginning of the year.
Hezbollah said it acted in response to “Israeli attacks on villages and civilian homes in the south,” particularly an attack on the homes of fighters in Khirbet Serm the previous day.
Lebanon's state news agency said a woman and another person were also killed in the same airstrike.
“After sirens sounded in northern Israel, approximately 35 shots were confirmed to have been fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, several of which were intercepted,” the Israeli military said on Sunday.
The statement added that the Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah infrastructure during the night, including “military facilities where Hezbollah terrorists were identified in the Khirbet Serm area.”
At least 312 people have been killed in Lebanon since cross-border violence began on October 8, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also 53 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
According to the latest official figures, 10 Israeli soldiers and seven civilians were killed.
Fighting on both sides of the border has forced tens of thousands of people to flee.
Strikes have so far been largely confined to border areas, but in recent weeks there have also been attacks against Hezbollah strongholds further north, raising fears of a full-scale conflict.
The organization has repeatedly said its attacks on Israel will only end with a ceasefire in Gaza, where deaths are occurring from malnutrition and dehydration. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in more than five months of Israeli attacks.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently said that the ceasefire in Gaza does not in any way change Israel's goal of driving Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon by force or diplomacy.
