Mideast crisis: Hezbollah fires rockets again at northern Israel as border clashes intensify

Hezbollah rocket strikes ignited fires Thursday near the town of Katzrin, on the plateau of Golan occupied by Israel.Credit. ..Jalaa Marey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hezbollah responded to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Thursday with a second consecutive day sharp intensification of rocket and drone attacks against Israel, in an escalating conflict and raising fears of a full-fledged war.

How many weapons Hezbollah's launch on Thursday was unclear, but the group's Al-Manar television channel reported that at one point more than 100 people were shot in a simultaneous, coordinated attack targeting several Israeli military installations. This included a number of drones targeting Israel's northern military headquarters, Hezbollah said.

The Israeli army said in the afternoon that Hezbollah had sent more than 40 rockets across the border, but the barrage continued well into the evening. Hours later, the army had not updated the figure, but a military spokesman called it the most serious attack since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October. He did not immediately provide details.

At least four people were injured in Thursday's assault, according to the Israeli army and its emergency services, Magen David. Adom. The army said in the afternoon that its air defenses had shot down many weapons fired so far, but that some had penetrated. The attacks and counterattacks sparked forest fires on both sides of the border.

Thursday evening, the official news agency Lebanese government reported that an Israeli strike destroyed a house, caused several casualties and sparked a fire in the town of Jannata, Lebanon, a few kilometers from the coastal city of Tyre.

Rocket launched since Lebanon is intercepted on Thursday by Israeli air defenses near the border.Credit...Gil Eliyahu/Reuters

On Wednesday, Hezbolllah fired more than 200 rockets at Israel, according to the Israeli army, but they caused minimal damage.

The Israeli army said Thursday that its fighter jets struck “Hezbollah military structures” overnight in Lebanese border villages.

Following Hamas' assault on Israel on October 7 and Israel's retaliation in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah intensified its attacks against Israel, which responded with artillery and air strikes on Lebanon, causing a conflict that has long simmered on the verge of boiling over.

The almost daily strikes have forced more than 150,000 Israelis and Lebanese living near from the border to flee their homes.

Israeli officials have threatened to take tougher action against Hezbollah, and pressure to do so – from the political right and displaced civilians – has increased. But so far, both sides have remained well short of all-out war.

Israel killed Mr Abdullah in strike Tuesday evening in Jwaya. , in southern Lebanon, claiming that he had “planned, advanced and carried out a large number of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians”.

The United States, France and other mediators, warning of the danger of regional war, have sought to advance a diplomatic settlement between Israel and Hezbollah that could restore calm to both sides of the conflict.