Hezbollah retaliates to Borghlieh strikes as Israel raids for the 7th time

Hezbollah launched attacks on Wednesday targeting a command center in Kiryat Shmona and Israeli military posts in Metula in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon.

The group reported using suicide drones to target Israeli soldiers in Metula, while Israeli fighter jets conducted raids on the southern Lebanese towns of Yaroun, Borghlieh, and al-Khiam.

Later, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and artillery shells at a barracks in Kiryat Shmona, responding to the Israeli strikes on Yaroun and al-Khiam. The attack on Metula was said to be in retaliation for four consecutive strikes on Borghlieh, which resulted in the death of three Hezbollah members. The Israeli army continued its bombardment, hitting Borghlieh for the seventh time.

In another incident, a drone targeted a car in the southern border town of al-Wazzani. The driver managed to escape unharmed, according to the National News Agency.

Israeli soldiers also fired machine guns at Kfarkila and shelled the southern border village along with the nearby villages of Deir Mimas and al-Khiam. Additionally, Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Houla, and drones struck the town square of Mays al-Jabal.

The Israeli military confirmed its warplanes had attacked Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight and reported that a drone had infiltrated near the border town of Metula.

The Israeli military, which has been exchanging cross-border fire with Hezbollah almost daily since October, stated on Monday that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated.”

This escalation follows Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s threat of Hezbollah’s destruction in a “total war.”

The ongoing violence has resulted in at least 473 deaths in Lebanon, primarily fighters but also including 92 civilians, according to an AFP tally. In northern Israel, authorities report the deaths of at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians.