Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel after senior commander killed | News on Israel-Palestine conflict

The military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating; both sides say they are prepared for war.

Hezbollah has launched one of its largest rocket attacks on northern Israel since the start of the Gaza war.

The firing of almost 100 missiles on Wednesday morning took place in response to the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon the previous evening. The attacks raise concerns that the military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating. Both sides say they are prepared for war.

The Israeli military confirmed that at least 90 rockets were fired from Lebanese territory, while sirens sounded in dozens of communities in the north of the country. It said many rockets were intercepted, but several hit and caused fires. No casualties were reported.

Aerial footage was then shown of an attack by Israeli fighter jets on Yaroun in southern Lebanon, which the military said was the launch site of the rockets.

Dozens of rockets have been fired from Lebanon since this morning, with sirens sounding as far south as Tiberias and east of Haifa. Impacts were reported in several areas, a factory was hit in Sasa and a fire broke out south of Safed when a rocket hit. pic.twitter.com/OiN3s5yU33

— Ali Hashem (@alihashem_tv) June 12, 2024

Hezbollah, an armed group based in Lebanon with ties to Iran, confirmed in a statement early Wednesday that Taleb Abdullah had been killed in an airstrike on the city of Jouaiyya a few hours earlier.

Abdullah, also known as Hajj Abu Taleb, was reportedly the commander of a Hezbollah division covering the western section of the front line between the border with Israel and the Litani River.

He is only the second Hezbollah commander killed since October 7. The other was Wissam al-Tawil, deputy head of the elite Radwan unit, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in January.

The armed group also confirmed the deaths of three other activists in the Israeli airstrike late Tuesday.

The escalation of attacks came after both Israel and Hezbollah declared their willingness to expand their military confrontation as the war in Gaza escalates tensions.

So far, ground fighting has been limited to skirmishes on the border. But Hezbollah is trying to challenge Israel’s air supremacy over Lebanon.

The group released footage showing it shooting down a third Israeli-built Hermes 900 reconnaissance and attack drone over Lebanon on Tuesday with a surface-to-air missile.

This week, several rockets were fired at Israeli fighter jets in an attempt to repel them.

The Israeli military confirmed the incidents and said its aircraft suffered no damage.

Late Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had attacked an area in southern Lebanon from which Hezbollah was preparing an attack.

It was also confirmed that the armed group fired 15 rockets, some of which were intercepted while others landed in open areas.

The Israeli military continues to bomb areas throughout the Gaza Strip, and there is no end to the war in sight.

Hamas said it had presented mediators with its response to the latest ceasefire proposal, which also included a prisoner exchange and a plan to rebuild the enclave.