Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at Israel after Deir Kifa assassination

Hezbollah stated that it launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel on Thursday in retaliation for a deadly strike in southern Lebanon, following a provocative speech from the group’s leader.

Since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking the Gaza Strip conflict, Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese group allied with Hamas, have exchanged almost daily cross-border fire.

Fears of a broader regional conflict increased after Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that “no place” in Israel would be safe if a full-scale war broke out against his group. He also threatened the nearby island nation of Cyprus if it opened its airports to Israel.

On Thursday, Hezbollah stated that “in response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the village of Deir Kifa,” their fighters targeted an Israeli barracks in Zar’it “with dozens of Katyusha rockets.”

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported one death after an “enemy drone” struck a vehicle in Deir Kifa, southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah confirmed that one of its fighters was killed, with a source close to the group, who requested anonymity, telling AFP the individual was killed in the Deir Kifa strike.

The Israeli military claimed an airstrike “eliminated” a Hezbollah operative in Deir Kifa, who was “responsible for planning and carrying out terror attacks against Israel and commanding Hezbollah ground forces” in the Jwaya area of southern Lebanon.

Media reports indicated that an Israeli drone also fired a missile at another car in Houmine al-Fawqa, a southern town, reportedly killing a person identified in some reports as the son of a Hezbollah commander.

Additionally, Israeli fighter jets targeted “a Hezbollah surface-to-air missile launcher that posed a threat to aircraft operating over Lebanon,” according to an army statement.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the airstrike targeted the Bir Kallab area in the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah in southern Lebanon, with artillery shelling hitting Khiam, Kfarkela, and al-Ezziyeh.

The conflict, which has intensified in recent weeks, follows their last major war in 2006. The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated.”

The cross-border violence has resulted in the deaths of at least 479 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also 93 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israeli authorities report at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians killed in northern Israel.

Israel has increased its targeting of Hezbollah fighters and allied militants in vehicles and on motorbikes in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah has deployed more advanced weaponry, including missile-firing drones, explosive drones, and a small guided missile called Almas, or Diamond, used to attack a base controlling a surveillance balloon.

Hezbollah also recently released a video over nine minutes long showing drone footage over northern Israel, including parts of the city and port of Haifa.

Concerns that Israel might launch a full-scale war in Lebanon have risen, with the Israeli military announcing on Tuesday that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated.”

On Wednesday, Israel reported its warplanes struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight, and a drone infiltrated near the border town of Metula, targeting troops in an attack claimed by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah also announced the death of four of its fighters on Wednesday.

The Israeli army’s approval of plans for an offensive in Lebanon, along with a warning from Foreign Minister Israel Katz of Hezbollah’s destruction in a “total war,” came as U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited the region to promote de-escalation.

Former Israeli security officials are divided on the implications of the approval, with one telling AFP that an operation in Lebanon could occur “within a few weeks,” while another said the government was “more interested in a ceasefire.”