Hezbollah Hits Israeli Bases with Rockets and Drones After Bekaa Strike

Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had launched suicide drones at an Israeli military base in Ami’ad, near Lake Tiberias, and fired a barrage of rockets at a “logistic military base” in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. These actions were described as retaliation for recent Israeli airstrikes in the Bekaa Valley.

An Israeli military spokesperson accused Hezbollah of “firing indiscriminately at Israeli civilians” in the Golan’s Katzrin area and warned that Israel would take necessary measures to “protect its citizens.” According to Israeli media, more than 50 rockets struck various private homes in the Golan Heights.

These attacks occurred just one day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with mediators from Egypt and Qatar to advance diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza. However, both Hamas and Israel indicated that significant challenges remain. Hamas, in a new statement, called the latest proposal a “reversal” of previous agreements and accused the U.S. of yielding to “new conditions” from Israel. The U.S. has not yet responded.

In the Golan Heights, first responders treated a 30-year-old man for shrapnel injuries from Wednesday’s attack. A house caught fire, but firefighters managed to prevent further damage by containing a gas leak.

Hezbollah stated that its attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night, which killed one person and injured 19 others. On the same day, Hezbollah launched over 200 projectiles toward Israel after an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah weapons depot located about 80 kilometers from the border, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing skirmishes.

For more than 10 months, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged almost daily strikes amid Israel’s conflict with Gaza. These exchanges have resulted in over 500 deaths in Lebanon, primarily militants but also around 100 civilians, as well as 23 soldiers and 26 civilians in Israel.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the territory, citing its strategic importance for security. The United States is the only country that recognizes this annexation, while the rest of the international community considers the Golan Heights to be occupied Syrian land.