Hezbollah shells Kiryat Shmona and Kfar Szold in response to Janata strike

Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets at Kiryat Shmona and Kfar Szold on Friday, in retaliation for an overnight Israeli strike that killed two women and injured several civilians in southern Lebanon.

Sirens blared in northern Israel on Friday morning, with police reporting munitions falling in the Kiryat Shmona area. No immediate casualties were reported.

Hezbollah stated it targeted the Israeli settlements with Katyusha and Falaq rockets in response to the strike on Janata that resulted in civilian casualties. The group also attacked buildings used by Israeli soldiers in Metula, north Israel, as further retaliation.

Earlier, Hezbollah had targeted Metula, two Israeli posts in the occupied Kfarshouba Heights, and a group of soldiers in Khellet Wardeh, claiming it was “in support of Gaza.”

In response, Israeli artillery shelled al-Khiam, Kfarkila, and the outskirts of Deir Mimas. The southern border town of Mays al-Jabal was also hit with White Phosphorus bombs, causing a fire in the town’s northeast.

The overnight Israeli strike on Janata in the Tyre district resulted in the deaths of two women and injuries to at least seven civilians, including children.

Recent weeks have seen a rise in cross-border exchanges, with Hezbollah increasing drone attacks on Israeli army positions and Israel responding with targeted strikes against militants.

Hezbollah has vowed to “increase the intensity, strength, quantity, and quality” of its attacks following the Israeli strike that killed one of its senior commanders. In turn, Israel has promised a forceful response.

The ongoing violence has resulted in at least 468 deaths in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 89 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israeli authorities report that at least 15 Israeli soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.