Tel Aviv [Israel]: Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona overnight Wednesday, prompting Israel to retaliate by striking terror sites in Lebanon.
The municipality said that at least eight rockets were launched, two of which impacted in the city, causing damage to infrastructure, including homes, vehicles and a preschool, but no injuries.
Israel’s Iron Dome defence system intercepted five of the rockets, with the other landing in an open area, according to authorities.
In response, Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanese territory and artillery shelled the source of the rocket fire.
The rocket barrage came after Israeli fighter jets reportedly struck Hezbollah terror sites near the Lebanese town of Bouslaya, located over 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border.
Israeli forces also targeted Lebanese terror operatives who approached the border fence in the Metula area.
Hours earlier, four rockets were fired from Syria towards Israel, setting off sirens in northern towns.
In response, the IDF shelled the source of the fire and hit a Syrian army position.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli Air Force jets conducted a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanon.
The strikes, which appeared to be preemptive, came amid a months-long escalation at the Israel-Lebanon border by the Iranian-backed terrorist group.
Israel Defence Forces Spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus warned on Monday that Hezbollah was “dragging Lebanon into an unnecessary war.”
He noted that since Oct. 8, a day after Hamas’s mass murder attack on southern Israel, Hezbollah had fired more than 1,000 rockets, missiles, drones and mortar shells towards Israel.
Five Israeli civilians and nine military personnel have been killed by enemy fire in the north since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people. More than a hundred Hezbollah members have been killed by Israeli retaliatory strikes, according to estimates.
The Lebanese terror group’s escalations were reportedly one of the main topics discussed during Monday’s meeting in Tel Aviv between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
A day earlier, Gallant vowed to restore security to the north so that residents of border communities could return to their homes.
“We will do this either through an agreement, or using force,” said Gallant.
“We don’t want war, but we won’t hold it for too long,” he added.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended 2006’s Second Lebanon War, called for the disarming of Hezbollah and for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be the only armed group south of the Litani River.
